Disarmament in Review
In 2017, by resolution A/RES/72/250, the General Assembly decided to establish a Group of Governmental Experts, to meet in two two-week sessions, one in 2018 and in one 2019 in Geneva, to consider and make recommendations on substantial elements of an international legally binding instrument on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, including, inter alia, on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space.
The Secretary-General invited the following Member States to nominate experts to participate in the work of the Group: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States. At its first meeting, the Group selected Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota (Brazil) as its Chair.
Open-ended intersessional informal consultative meeting
In accordance with operative paragraph 5 of resolution 72/250, adopted by the General Assembly on 24 December 2017, the Chair of the Group of Governmental Experts on further practical measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer space convened a two-day open-ended intersessional informal consultative meeting, in New York from 31 January to 1 February 2019, so that all Member States could engage in interactive discussions and share their views on the basis of a report on the work of the Group provided by the Chair in his own capacity.
- Programme
- Report by the Chair on the work of the Group, pursuant to A/RES/72/250
- Chair’s Summary
Statements by Member States (only statements received by the Secretariat are listed below)
- Nigeria ( on behalf of the African Group)
- Mexico ( E | S )
- Kazakhstan ( Part 1 | Part 2 )
- Egypt
- Algeria
- Islamic Republic of Iran
Informal segment devoted to engagement between Member States and the broader outer space security policy community
On 1 February, the Chair organized a series of panels in order to facilitate engagement and interaction between Member States and the broader outer space community, including representatives of national space agencies, the commercial sector and civil society.
Exchange with representatives of national space agencies
- Ms. Eleanor Agnew, Manager, International and Regulatory Affairs, Canadian Space Agency
- Ms. Rosa Maria Ramirez de Arellano, General Coordinator of Outer Space International and Security Affairs,
Mexican Space Agency ( Presentation in English | Spanish ) - Dr. Bernhard Schmidt-Tedd, Head of UN Affairs, German Space Agency
Exchange with representatives of commercial space actors
- Mr. Bruce Cathell, Vice President, Government Operations, ViaSat
- Mr. Simon Gray, Vice President of Humanitarian Affairs, Eutelsat
- Ms. Neha Satak, Co-Founder and CEO, Astrome Technologies
- Ms. Jessica Noble, Nanoracks
Exchange with representatives of civil society
- Dr. Theresa Hitchens, Senior Researcher, Center for International Security Studies (CISSM), University of Maryland
- Dr. Peter Martinez, Executive Director, Secure World Foundation
- Dr. Mazlan Othman, Director of the Regional Office for Asia Pacific, International Science Council
- Dr. Fabio Tronchetti, Co-Director, Institute of Space Law and Strategy, Beihang University
Workshop convened by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
On 30 January 2019, UNIDIR convened a space security workshop: a primer for delegations, in support of United Nations processes on outer space security. Presentations from the workshop can be found here.
