EU Statement – UN General Assembly 4th Committee: Peaceful uses of outer space
Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.
The EU and its Member States have always upheld and will continue to uphold the UN Charter and the rules and principles it enshrines. They reaffirm the Union’s steadfast commitment to effective multilateralism and to international law with the United Nations at its core. Violations of the UN Charter undermine the entire UN system. In this context, we condemn Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and DPRK’s repeated launches using ballistic missile technologies, as these actions constitute clear and flagrant violations of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions.
The UN Pact for the Future recognises the need for urgent action to ensure the safe and sustainable use of space for the benefit of all humankind and encouraged the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to further consult on the proposal to hold a fourth United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Exploration of Outer Space (UNISPACE IV) in 2027. The EU supports convening the Conference to discuss and give clear orientation for space traffic, space debris and space resources activities through COPUOS, inviting private sector, civil society and other stakeholders to contribute where appropriate to intergovernmental processes related to the increased safety and sustainability of outer space. The EU welcomes the efforts of Morocco, as current COPUOS Chair, and Italy, as upcoming COPUOS Chair, in facilitating the discussion. Furthermore, the EU stresses the importance of providing UNOOSA with the necessary resources for its realisation.
The EU fully supports the UNSG’s vision for the UN80 initiative to review, restructure, and revitalise the UN system, and recognize the UNSG’s political authority to drive the managerial efficiencies, especially within the Secretariat and common services. UN80 should strengthen the UN’s resilience and ability for effective mandate implementation, both normative and operational, in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape and financial restrictions. We emphasize the role of UNOOSA, serving also as the secretariat for COPUOS, in promoting international cooperation for the peaceful uses of outer space, ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities and promoting the Space2030 Agenda.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty and other relevant UN treaties on outer space, accompanied by the guiding principles developed in the UN framework, constitute the cornerstone of the global governance in outer space. The EU and its Member States reiterate the applicability of International Humanitarian Law in outer space and will continue to promote responsible behaviours in outer space, recalling the obligations under the Outer Space Treaty, in particular those comprised in Article IV that obligates States Parties not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner. We urge all States to refrain from any threatening activity, and to abide by the Outer Space Treaty’s Article IV and call upon all States which have not yet done so to join the existing UN treaties on outer space and faithfully implement them.
The exploration and use of outer space is the province of all humankind and outer space as a global commons must remain free for exploration and use by all States without any discrimination, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law. We continue to actively promote the preservation of a safe, secure, stable and sustainable space environment and the peaceful use of outer space as well as access to outer space for future generations.
COPUOS and its Subcommittees, assisted by UNOOSA, remain the indispensable fora for international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, as well as for the development of international space law, international norms, guidelines and best practices, including on space safety. In particular, the work of COPUOS is required to address the pressing challenges that we confront in outer space today and to guarantee the implementation of international space law and to ensure that international space law remains at the core of global space governance in the twenty-first century, with the Outer Space Treaty as its cornerstone. With the private sector so significantly involved in outer space activities today, the EU and its Member States stress the crucial role of COPUOS in enhancing transparency and building confidence among the whole international community, including spacefaring and non-spacefaring States. We must all ensure that COPUOS can continue to deliver.
Chair,
Space traffic management and the mitigation of space debris remain among the key issues for COPUOS. We value discussions in the Working Group on Long-Term Sustainability on the implementation of Guidelines, capacity-building, and new challenges. We welcome the adoption of the LTS report at the COPUOS plenary in June 2025. We encourage all space faring nations to step up the implementation of the 21 LTS Guidelines as well as the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines to ensure long-term orbital sustainability.
The EU aims to contribute to space traffic management as a global endeavour, pairing existing capabilities and tools with an overall ambition for global cooperation and coordination with international partners, to share information and experience. On the operational side, since 2016, EU Space Surveillance & Tracking has been providing, inter alia, collision avoidance services to protect satellites and re-entry prediction services to help protect populations and critical infrastructure on Earth – services, which are open to non-European users.
Chair,
The EU and its Member States welcome the recent discussions within the COPUOS Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities and encourages further work to develop a set of recommended principles. We also welcome the discussions on promoting information exchange on space activities under Art. XI OST through the Working Group on the 5 UN Space Treaties. Furthermore, we welcome the work of the Action Team on Lunar Activities Consultation to ensure that lunar activities are conducted in a safe, peaceful and transparent manner.
The Space2030 Agenda and the UN General Assembly resolution on the peaceful use of outer space provide a framework for ongoing work. The EU and its Member States are committed to implementing the SDGs and the Space2030 Agenda. The European Union Space Programme, with components like GALILEO and COPERNICUS, is crucial in achieving these goals by providing free, open, and reliable data. These programs address challenges related to transport systems, renewable energy, food security, water management, climate change, and environmental impact including health, while also supporting disaster management, civil security, and rescue operations to all states. It is a prime example of international cooperation on the peaceful uses of outer space. The EU's Global Gateway strategy supports these efforts, including setting up regional Copernicus centres in Panama and Chile and a national data centre in the Philippines. Another landmark EU initiative under this strategy is the Africa-EU Space Partnership Programme, launched earlier this year, which supports Africa’s space aspirations, as outlined in the African Space Policy.
In relation to sustainability, the EU stresses the importance of protecting dark and quiet skies and initiatives aimed at preserving astronomy from issues such as potential interferences of satellite constellations.
We cannot support Russia’s draft resolution on “space science and technology for promoting peace”. The EU is actively engaged in promoting the preservation of a safe, secure, stable and sustainable space environment and the peaceful use of outer space on an equitable and mutually acceptable basis for all, for present and future generations. We note that this draft resolution clearly duplicates the contribution of the omnibus resolution, traditionally adopted by consensus, while inappropriately introducing further space security issues, which are not suitably addressed in the Fourth Committee on this agenda item. The EU is deeply attached to the work of COPUOS and its mandate and is concerned about the potential disruption of its work by Russia’s circumvention of its consensus methods of work. We deeply regret that Russia intends to table this resolution – a text that did not reach consensus in the 68th COPUOS plenary. This approach wholly disrespects the mandate and process of COPUOS. Adopting a text by vote that did not reach consensus in COPUOS would set a precedent that is detrimental to the consensus-based approach of COPUOS, deeply valued by all its members, while undermining good-faith engagement in the Fourth Committee. The Space2030 Agenda and the annual UN General Assembly resolution on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space continue to provide the consensual basis for further work.
The EU underscores the role of COPUOS as a unique multilateral platform for promoting international cooperation in outer space. Its expanding membership highlights the growing significance of outer space and space technologies for societies. This year, EU Member States will support Malta's application to join COPUOS, which demonstrates its keen interest to participate in the work of COPUOS given its active involvement in space-related activities at the European level. Likewise, we welcome the membership applications of Ivory Coast, Gambia, Honduras, Maldives, and Zimbabwe.
Thank you.