United NationsOffice for Outer Space Affairs

Statement by Simonetta Di Pippo, Director, UNOOSA

59th session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Vienna, 8-17 June 2016

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

On behalf of the Office for Outer Space Affairs, I warmly welcome you all to the fifty-ninth session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. This year, a new bureau of the Committee, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, and the Legal Subcommittee for the period 2016-2017 is elected. Allow me, Mr. Chairman, to assure you and all bureau members of the full support of the Office for Outer Space Affairs in assisting this unique intergovernmental platform at the global level to continue achieving major accomplishments. I would also like to join you Mr. Chairman in welcoming El Salvador, Israel, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates as new members of the Committee.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

In 2015, the international community adopted three mutually interdependent and strategic agendas: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and the Paris Agreement on climate change. An important advancement in the space arena was the welcoming by the General Assembly, through its resolution 70/82, of UNISPACE+50, which in 2018 will mark the 50th anniversary of the first global United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE I), held in Vienna in 1968. This is truly an important endeavour that will chart the future role of the Committee and of the Office for Outer Space Affairs in global space governance.

The UNISPACE+50 Steering Committee, established by the Committee at its 59th session last year (A/70/20, para. 351) and endorsed by the General Assembly, has already held four meetings. The Office for Outer Space Affairs remains committed to facilitating the preparation for UNISPACE+50. The Office has established an internal Project Team that is coordinating the Office-wide preparations for UNISPACE+50. I will report on this work in more detail on behalf of the Steering Committee on Friday, 10 June 2016.

As part of advancing the overarching UNISPACE+50 process, the Office has launched a three-year series of High-level Fora (HLF) to take place in 2016-2018 on the theme "Space as a driver for socioeconomic sustainable development", as endorsed by the Committee at its 58th session last year. These High-level Fora aim to become a platform for the collective space community to provide guidance and recommendations in support of UNISPACE+50 on the potentials of space science and technology in fostering global development, and at the same time fostering partnership and providing a framework for cooperation development. The first High-level Forum is scheduled to take place on 20-24 November 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and I would like to thank the Host Country, the Secure World Foundation and Sierra Nevada Corporation for already committing their support to HLF. I invite you to visit our website for more information on how to attend and/or to co-sponsor the event, and would like to encourage Member States to promote greater participation in the Forum.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

For four decades, under the obligation of the Registration Convention, which entered into force on 15 September 1976, the Office is mandated to maintain the central United Nations Register on Objects Launched into Outer Space, one of the existing most important tools for enhancing transparency and confidence in space activities. This, together with the responsibilities of the Office under the United Nations treaties and principles on outer space, forms the legal basis for consideration of enhanced information exchange and notification procedures on space objects and events, including through the UNISPACE+50 process.

The Register's function as the core mechanism for treaty-based transparency and confidence-building has been reinforced by the impact of the 2007 General Assembly resolution on registration practice, resolution 62/101, where we note that an increasing number of States and intergovernmental organizations are reviewing their registration practices and are making efforts to harmonize them, while new and prospective space nations are actively considering the issue of space object registration.

The Office is deeply committed to discharging the Secretary-General's responsibilities under international space law in the most effective and efficient manner and is pleased that the Register continues to enhance confidence among space actors by providing transparency through its mechanisms. This is particularly important in the context of General Assembly resolutions 68/50, 69/38 and 70/53 on transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities, and in view of the Committee's consideration of the broader perspective of space security and associated matters that would be instrumental in ensuring the safe and responsible conduct of space activities.

The General Assembly in its resolution 70/82 encourages the Office to conduct capacity-building and outreach activities on transparency and confidence-building measures within the context of the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. In this regard we are engaging in a dialogue with the Office for Disarmament Affairs, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the Secure World Foundation to organize such activities as part of the 10th United Nations Workshop on Space Law and Policy, to be held in Vienna on 5-8 September this year. In 2017, the Office will also attend meetings of the United Nations Disarmament Commission with the view to developing a holistic approach to addressing issues related to the security, safety and sustainability of outer space activities.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

This year marks the 10th anniversary of UN-SPIDER, the United Nations Platform for Space-based information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response, established by the United Nations General Assembly through its resolution 61/110 of 14 December 2006. Through UN-SPIDER, the Office promotes the exchange of knowledge and experience to allow Member States to learn about innovative new methods, best practices and possibilities for accessing and using satellite-derived resources, including through "discovery days" that were launched this year. The tenth anniversary of UN-SPIDER is also an opportunity to review its goals and partnerships and consider how it can better support Member States with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this context, a workshop was held with partners and donors on 7 to 8 June in Vienna. The event followed the 7th Annual UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices Coordination Meeting, in Vienna on 6 June 2016. Furthermore, UN-SPIDER will hold its 6th annual conference in Beijing as one of the commitments of the Office for Outer Space Affairs in supporting the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Tomorrow afternoon, a technical presentation on UN-SPIDER+10 Anniversary will be made by Luc St-Pierre, Chief of Space Applications Section.

The Office, through workshops and expert meetings organized under the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, provides opportunities to bring together experts, decision makers and practitioners to share experience and knowledge among regions. In line with GA resolution 70/230, the Office in 2016 organized a workshop in Costa Rica (Human Space Technology), will hold workshops with Kenya (Wildlife Management and Biodiversity), and the Islamic Republic of Iran (Dust Storm and Drought Monitoring), and in 2017 plans implementation of its activities in South Africa (Basic Space Technology). In addition to the above-mentioned events, the Office will organize the 22 ^nd UN/Austria Symposium, focusing on Integrated Space Technology Applications for Climate Change, the 25 ^th UN/IAF Workshop on Space Technology for Socio-Economic Benefits, and the UN/Nepal Workshop on the Applications of Global Navigations Satellite Systems. Consistent with its role as the Executive Secretariat of ICG and its Providers' Forum, the Office will further continue its activities in the field of global navigation satellite systems.

Building capacity in the use of space science and technology in developing countries, raising awareness of socio-economic benefits of space technology applications at national, regional, and international levels, fostering institutional capacities in managing disaster risk reduction, and promoting capacity-building in space law and policy to meet the need for strengthened capacities of all countries in developing their national space activities are among the core activities of the Office. Capacity-building is one of the core pillars of the UNISPACE+50 segment of COPUOS at its 61 ^st session in June 2018, and the Office is committed to work towards this aim in all its activities. The Office will capitalize on its strength of being a capacity-building machine, and is determined to meet the growing demand from Member States, in particular developing countries, to support their capacity-building efforts in establishing national space infrastructure and in making optimal use of space science, technology and applications for the benefit of their citizens, by providing substantive support in this area.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

In implementing its mandate relevant to the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities (UN-Space), the Office undertook a vast range of inter-agency coordination activities, including the organization of an annual session of UN-Space and preparation of a special on-line publication on Space for Agriculture Development and Food Security; the Secretary-General report on coordination of space-related activities within the United Nations system; and the UN-Space special report on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space. I will make a more detailed statement under the item on the use of space technology in the United Nations system during the course of the session.

Complementing multilateral inter-agency efforts, the Office intensified bilateral inter-agency achievements on subject matters of utmost importance to the space community. As an example, bilateral cooperation and coordination achievement with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on subject matters of high relevance to the space and aviation communities is successfully being carried out for the benefit of both. The series of Aerospace Symposia held in Canada in 2015, UAE in 2016, and to be held in Vienna in 2017 connect several areas relevant to the UNISPACE+50 considerations and of importance to space community, such as future space traffic management, small and very small satellite activities, and suborbital flights.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

The reduction of the level of the Office's human resources is a matter of great concern. Unfortunately, human resources shortfall directly affects the number of activities the Office is able to implement. This is particularly important in view of the need to embark in additional preparatory activities in light of UNISPACE+50, respond to the increasing demand of Member States for institutional capacity-building, and develop new initiatives and meet emerging needs in a timely and adequate manner.

In this connection, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Member States who support the Office through the Associate Expert Programme and Non-reimbursable loan framework, including Austria and China for concrete written proposals, and Germany and Japan for its long-standing support. I am also grateful to those States that verbally indicated their intention to help. Every contribution is important to us, and I trust that I can count on your continued support as we explore existing and new opportunities to enlarge the Office's capacity-building efforts in support of Member States. In the annex to this statement, which will be provided in writing to delegations in the coming days, more information on financial and administrative matters can be found.

To strengthen its current funding structure and budget, the Office also launched the Multi-Donor Strategic Support to UNISPACE+50 initiative, which seeks to provide flexible, coordinated and predictable funding on a voluntary basis to the Office to prepare, structure and implement activities in support of UNISPACE+50 and the series of the High-level Fora, as well as for the promotion of space-based applications and technologies for innovative and timely actions to support Member States in meeting objectives of the global development agenda. I would like to invite you all to consider, for potential support, the Office's Multi-Donor Strategic Support initiative.

The Office is also pleased to report that, in addition to the contributions received in 2015, we also successfully concluded a number of multi-year funding agreements, the contributions from which will be received in 2016 and beyond. I would like to thank the Governments of Austria, China, Germany, Switzerland, the United States, as well as the European Commission, European Space Agency, Secure World Foundation and Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems, for the cash contributions made under these agreements and other funding arrangements.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

I would like to draw to your attention the proposed Strategic Framework of the Programme for the period 2018-2019, which is available in the Official Document System of the United Nations under the document number A/71/6 (Prog.5), and which has also been made available to all delegations today in document A/AC.105/2016/CRP.10. I invite the Committee to review the proposed framework and to provide comments or suggest modifications to the text, if any, during its 711th meeting in the afternoon of 10 June 2016. The Committee's decisions and/or modifications will be communicated to the Committee on Programme Coordination (CPC), responsible for reviewing the programmes of the United Nations, before its meeting with the Office on Monday, 13 June 2016.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

The Democratic People´s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 25 April 2016 submitted, in accordance with article IV of the Registration Convention, an official registration of the satellite Kwangmyongsong-4, which was launched by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on 7 February 2016. The Office, in acting on behalf of the Secretary-General, has issued the registration submission as document ST/SG/SER.E/768.

As a member of the UN Secretariat, the Office strives to monitor and implement decisions and recommendations of the Security Council and General Assembly, which are relevant to its work. Among these, I wish to mention decisions of the Security Council relating to measures aimed at the prevention of the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer to the DPRK of items, materials, equipment, goods and technology, which could contribute to the development of ballistic missile-related weapons.

In this regard, the Office closely collaborates with the Panel of Experts established by the UN Security Council resolution 1874 (2009), adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, to gather, examine and analyse information regarding the implementation of the measures imposed on DPRK by Security Council resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013) and 2094 (2013).

The Office takes weighted and thorough actions in order to make sure that its activities, as well as those activities performed by entities affiliated to the United Nations in accordance with the mandate by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, are in strict compliance with the Security Council regime outlined above, as well as with views, recommendations and conclusions of the Panel of Experts, including the report of the Panel issued in March 2016 and contained in document S/2016/157.

The Office monitors the compliance of its programmes, as well as the compliance of certain activities and programmes carried out by connected entities, such as the Regional Centres and UN-SPIDER regional support offices.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

I am convinced that active involvement of all delegations in the work of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies is a key element for success. In order to provide regular and updated information to Member States of the United Nations, I have instituted the following new procedures.

First, a special briefing by the Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs is organized for Heads of Permanent Missions in Vienna in the fall of each year for the purpose of updating member States on the preparations of the sessions of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (STSC), the Legal Subcommittee (LSC) and COPUOS in the following year, as well as on activities of the Office. The first meeting was held on 11 September last year and a similar meeting will be called this September.

Second, to enhance the transparency and visibility of the Office's activities, the Office has published, for the first time ever, an annual report. I am pleased to inform delegations that jointly with Mr. Fedotov, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, we will be presenting this report to the delegations attending this session of the Committee on 10 June at 10.00 hours in this meeting room; I encourage you to make full use of this important tool.

In closing, I would like to reiterate that despite the shortfall in financial and human resources, the Office dedicates all its energy to carrying out its mandate serving the interests of Member States in the area of peaceful uses of outer space to the maximum extent possible.

Thank you for your attention.

Annex

ACTIVITIES

The Office continued to successfully provide full substantive Secretariat support to the sessions of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its subsidiary bodies, including Working Groups, over the past year. The Office also worked to the effective implementation of its various programmed activities, including those under the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, UN-SPIDER, Executive Secretariat function under ICG, coordination of the UN-Space inter-agency actions, and in discharging the responsibilities of the Secretary-General under the legal regime on outer space, including in maintaining the central UN Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space.

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 69/38 and in line with the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities (A/68/189), a joint ad hoc meeting between the General Assembly First Committee and Fourth Committee was held on 22 October 2015 in New York, as an innovative effort to bring together for the first time two Committees of the General Assembly to address holistically possible challenges to space security and sustainability. As recommended by the Committee at its 58th session (A/70/20, para. 330), the Office managed to organize, in cooperation with the Office for Disarmament Affairs, a panel discussion, comprising the Presidents of the First and Fourth Committees, the Chair of the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space, the Chair of the Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities of this Subcommittee, the Under Secretary-General and Acting High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and the Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs.

With regards to UN-Space, the 36th session was held on 3 March 2016 at the premises of the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The session was co-hosted with the Office for Disarmament Affairs and the Acting High Representative for Disarmament Affairs informed the session about an upcoming report of the Secretary-General on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures (TCBM) in outer space activities as mandated under resolution 70/53. The session first and foremost aimed at providing participating UN entities with explanatory background to the UN-Space special report on TCBMs that will be issued in all official languages of the United Nations for the fifty-ninth session of COPUOS in June 2016.

The General Assembly, in its resolution 70/82, operative paragraph 6, noted with satisfaction that the space law curriculum developed by the Office for Outer Space Affairs of the Secretariat and published in all official languages of the United Nations could encourage further studies within States in cooperation with relevant entities in support of capacity-building efforts in space law and policy. The curriculum is available online on a dedicated web page of the website of the Office. In September 2015 the Office attended, upon invitation, the Space Law Forum of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) and the space law training course organized by the Beihang Regional Centre, with emphasis on the space law curriculum. The office was also pleased to participate in a training session organized by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on this occasion.

The Office in August 2015 participated, upon invitation, in the consultations on PAROS in Geneva to inform delegations on the work of COPUOS and on the joint meeting of the First and Fourth committees. The office also participated in the UNIDIR Space Security Conference co-organized with the Secure World Foundation (SWF), also in Geneva in April 2016, and in the 4 ^th Manfred Lachs International Conference on Conflicts in Space and the Rule of Law, organized by McGill University in Montreal in May 2016 .

COOPERATION AGREEMENTS

The conclusion in June 2015 of the Framework Agreement for Cooperation between the Office, on behalf of the United Nations, and the Government of the State of Israel, established a general legal framework for cooperation in various space-related areas. On that basis, on 2 February 2016, the Office signed with the Israel Space Agency a Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Collaboration.

On 22 July 2015, the Office signed a cooperation agreement with the Government of Switzerland to cooperate in the implementation of the project "Interagency Coordination and Liaison Office in Geneva for the promotion of space-based tools and technology for humanitarian affairs, environment and security".

On 19 August 2015, the Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) to strengthen collaboration and help the implementation of the agreement with the Government of Switzerland (see above).

On 12 August 2015, the Office signed a cooperation agreement with the Government of Austria in support of UNISPACE+50, the series of the High-Level Fora "Space as a Driver for Socioeconomic Sustainable Development", and of UN-SPIDER.

The Office also signed a new agreement with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on 11 September 2015, through which Chinese satellite Earth Observation data will be harnessed to support the United Nations in the areas of disaster management and disaster risk reduction. Under the new agreement, which is in line with commitments made under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, UN-SPIDER will benefit from increased collaboration with CNSA and will have access to Chinese satellite imagery.

On 8 September 2015, the Office signed a cooperation agreement with the Government of Japan to provide opportunities for entities in developing countries to deploy small satellites from the International Space Station Kibo module. KiboCUBE is aimed at providing opportunities to educational or research institutions from developing countries to deploy small satellites (CubeSats) into space. Participants are being selected and should be announced in August this year.

On 20 February 2015, the Office signed a cooperation agreement with DigitalGlobe to collaborate in the area of geospatial information and analytics, and to further the use of geospatial data and images throughout the UN System.

On 31 August 2015, the Office signed a cooperation agreement with the Secure World Foundation (SWF) in support of the High Level Forum "Space as a Driver for Socioeconomic Sustainable Development". An additional agreement between the Office and SWF in support of HLF was signed on 5 February 2016.

On 31 March 2016, the Office signed a cooperation agreement with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) to provide opportunities in developing countries to utilise China's forthcoming manned space station.

On 4 April 2016, the Office signed a cooperation agreement with Paz y Cooperación on the organization of a global art competition on the theme "Looking to the Stars, The Future of Our World".

On 11 April 2016, the Office signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC), which joins the UN-SPIDER network of regional support offices.

On 11 April 2016, the Office signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the University of Bonn's Centre for Remote Sensing of Land Surface, which joins the UN-SPIDER network of regional support offices.

On 18 April 2016, the Office signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the National Observatory of Athens, which becomes the 20th Member of the UN-SPIDER network of regional support offices.

OUTREACH EVENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS APPROACH

Website development

The Office launched its new website ( www.unoosa.org) in June 2015. With easier navigation, improved access to information, and multimedia additions, this new website has been designed to better serve the Member States, and to raise awareness of the work of the Office. This structural and design upgrade has been managed by an internal Web Development Team who worked closely with the Information Technology Services Section in UNOV. The website upgrade reflects committed efforts of the Office to promote the benefits of space for humankind.

World Space Week

A UN-declared celebration since 1999, the World Space Week (WSW) in 2015, under the leadership of the World Space Week Association, highlighted with the theme "Discovery" the great era of deep space discovery that we are in. A total of 1894 events were registered for WSW 2015 in a successful global outreach and education campaign. The Office for Outer Space Affairs joined in celebrating the WSW by organizing in Vienna, in cooperation with the Austrian Space Forum and the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, the advanced screening of "The Martian"; a dedicated exhibition on "The Force of Nature in Mexico, as seen from space", in cooperation with the Mexican Space Agency; and the launch of the "2015 World Disasters Report: Focus on local actors, the key to humanitarian effectiveness" of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in cooperation with the Austrian Red Cross and the Norwegian Embassy in Vienna.

International Day of Human Space Flight

On Friday 12 April 2015, the International Day of Human Space Flight, declared by the UN General Assembly in 2011, was celebrated globally. The Office marked the event with the official launch of the updated edition of our series "Messages from Space Explorers to future generations". The Office also teamed up in an outreach effort and took part in a relay race at the Vienna Marathon, held on 12 April 2015, under the theme "UNOOSA - Race for Space".

#whyspacematters

In June 2015, the Office, in collaboration with NASA and astronaut Scott Kelly, launched a global photography competition and social media campaign to highlight the importance of outer space for sustainable development on Earth. Participants were asked to submit pictures through Instagram using #whyspacematters, tagging @UNOOSA, and in relation to suggested themes and addressing sustainable development. The campaign successfully concluded on 15 February 2016 with astronaut Kelly announcing the winning photo by posting it on his Instagram account @StationCDRKelly. All winners of this June 2015-February 2016 campaign can be found at http://www.unoosa.org/whyspacematters.

My Planet From Space: Fragility and Beauty

A prominent exhibition was organized by the Office, and coordinated and produced by the European Space Agency (ESA), at the premises of the UN Headquarters in New York, in the Visitors' Lobby of General Assembly Building, on 9 July - 9 September 2015. The exhibit used spectacular satellite images and videos to demonstrate the beauty and fragility of our planet and the challenges posed by climate change. At the closing ceremony on 8 September 2015, speakers included the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Director of the European Space Agency's Earth Observation Programmes, Volker Liebig, and the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Simonetta di Pippo.

Long Night of Research

On 22 April.2016 the Office participated in Austria's biggest research event, the Long Night of Research. Over 1,300 visitors were welcomed in the Vienna International Centre to learn about the different research projects and programmes of the Vienna-based organisations. UNOOSA took advantage of the event to promote the benefits of space and to raise awareness of the Office's specific programmes and activities.

UPDATE ON STAFF MOVEMENTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

During the past year the Office had a number of staff movements. Presently there is a vacancy in the Committee, Policy and Legal Affairs Section (G-5) and two others in the Space Applications Section (P-3 and P-5 (temporary)). The selection process for the P-3 position has been completed and the selected candidate is expected to join shortly. The selection process for the G-5 and the P-5 (temporary) is underway. Ms. Daria Brankin of New Zealand was appointed to the P-2 position in the Office of the Director. The recruitment process for the temporary replacement for Mr. Takao Doi who retired in March this year has also been completed and Mr. Luc St-Pierre assumed the responsibilities of Chief of the Space Applications Section on 1 April 2016. Finally the Office would like to report that Ms. Anne Pustina and Ms. Antje Hecheltjen, two associate experts provided by the Government of Germany, have concluded their assignments with the Office.

UPDATE ON RESOURCES

Regular Budget Resources overview:  

                                                                                                   Thousands of United States dollars

*Excludes $197,400 for the activities that were postponed from 2015

Extra-budgetary Resources overview:

                                                                                                  Thousands of United States dollars

* Excludes the assessed value of the salaries for staff providing services to the Office under the Associate Expert Programme and Non-reimbursable loan framework.