The European Union told the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva that it wants new norms of “responsible behaviour” in outer space alongside future legally binding agreements to help prevent an arms race in space.
Outer space is a “global commons” that should be used for the benefit of all humankind, and keeping it peaceful is needed to protect access, safety and the long-term use of the space environment, the EU said, according to a statement from the EU Delegation to the UN in Geneva released on Friday.
The bloc also reiterated that international law applies to activities in outer space, including the UN Charter and international humanitarian law, as set out in Article III of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
Countries that have not yet joined the Outer Space Treaty should sign and ratify it “without further delay”, the EU said.
It also backed “transparency and confidence-building measures” — steps such as information-sharing intended to reduce misunderstanding and lower the risk of conflict — discussed in a 2013 UN expert report, and welcomed a UN Secretary General report on their implementation.
The EU encouraged states to subscribe to the Hague Code of Conduct, a political agreement under which countries share information including pre-launch notifications for ballistic missile and space launch vehicle programmes.
It also supported the UN Institute for Disarmament Research’s Space Security Portal as a tool for information-sharing and capacity building.
Concern over anti-satellite tests and other threats
The EU said it was “deeply concerned” about an increase in “ambiguous, unfriendly or hostile” activities in outer space, and pointed to destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile tests as an urgent threat.
Such tests can destroy satellites, create long-lived debris and increase the risk of escalation, it added.
It welcomed commitments by 38 UN member states — including all EU member states — not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile tests, as contained in UN General Assembly resolution 77/41, the EU said. It urged other states to make the same commitment.
The statement also raised concerns about “rendezvous and proximity operations” — manoeuvres in which one spacecraft approaches another — saying they can be perceived as a threat if intentions are not communicated in advance.
Non-kinetic threats such as cyberattacks, jamming, electromagnetic interference and directed-energy weapons should be considered irresponsible when they jeopardise the security of people, goods and services on Earth or in space.
The EU said it would take part in upcoming sessions of the UN open-ended working group on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, and reiterated support for an inclusive approach that also involves international organisations, commercial actors, civil society and academia.
