EU explanation of vote at UNGA: No first placement of weapons in outer space

Mr. Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Member States of the European Union.

The EU Candidate Countries Albania^*, Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro^*, North Macedonia^*, Ukraine, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Canada, Monaco and San Marino, align themselves with this statement.

I am taking the floor to explain our vote on the proposals contained in documents A/C.1/78/L.55 regarding “Further Practical Measures on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space” and A/C.1/78/L.53 regarding “No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space”.

Mr. Chairman,

We will vote against these two resolutions and call on other Member States to do the same.

The EU and its Member States are actively engaged in promoting the preservation of a safe, secure and sustainable space environment and the peaceful use of outer space on an equitable and mutually acceptable basis for all. The EU and its Member States remain strongly committed to the prevention of an arms race in outer space, thus safeguarding the free exploration and long-term use of the space environment for peaceful purposes.

We share the view that we need further practical measures for the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space in accordance with the spirit of the Outer Space Treaty, as it is also set out in the Final Document of the UNGA First Special Session on Disarmament in 1978. Such measures can be a combination of legally binding and non-legally binding instruments and should cover all aspects of PAROS, including the prevention of the outbreak of conflicts in outer space. In draft resolution A/C.1/78/L.55, definitional ambiguity regarding the question of what constitutes a weapon in space will affect all objects placed in space or that could be used to affect objects in outer space, that could in one way or another be considered a weapon if used in an aggressive manner. Thus, it can diminish the overall sense of security, instead of bringing it to a higher level

Furthermore, the OEWG proposed by the draft resolution A/C.1/78/L55 has two main pitfalls:

• It disregards previous and existing processes: it simply repeats the mandate of the upcoming GGE, which has not even started its work, disregarding its future discussions. It also ignores the successful discussions held at the OEWG on space threats that concluded its work this summer and categorically refuses to take on board the benefits of the behavior-based approach, despite a wide support among Member States;
• As it does not build on past and existing work strands, it fails to propose a realistic scope of work, necessary to score pragmatic results in the mid-term.

Against this background, it is evident that this proposed OEWG only aims at disrupting multilateral efforts to improve space security. It spurs division and risks while stretching resources of Member States in competing processes. It seeks to generate a “space fatigue” in Geneva, to the detriment of all Member States.

The “responsible behaviors” initiative, by contrast, has from the outset acknowledged that PAROS can be addressed through a combination of legally binding and non-legally binding measures. It proposes to take into account the work to be done at the GGE and presents us with a clear mandate building on the progress made in the first OEWG. This proposed OEWG naturally follows its predecessor, responding to a clear demand expressed by a large number of Member States last September.

We do not face a dilemma with two equally legitimate proposals. There is one serious, anticipated and widely supported initiative, and one disruptive move only aimed at slowing down any meaningful progress in the objective of PAROS.

With regard to draft Resolution [L.53] on “No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space” (NFP), our position has been known for many years and remains unwavering. We stress that the NFP initiative does not address either the difficult issue of defining what a weapon in outer space is, which continue to make this resolution ineffective and does not address threats from the use of space systems to interfere with other space systems. Ambiguities, regarding the use of certain objects and regarding intentions on their use, could lead to misinterpretations, misunderstandings and miscalculations, and could consequently increase the risk of conflict in space.

Furthermore,with space being increasingly contested and congested, we remain concerned about the continued development and testing of anti-satellites weapons and the repeated threats by the Russian Federation to target commercial satellites. We underline the importance of addressing such dangerous and highly destabilizing developments promptly, comprehensively, and as part of international efforts to prevent an arms race in outer space,something that this resolution does not do sufficiently.

Against this background and as per UNGA resolution 77/41, the EU welcomes the national commitments made by an increasing number of UN Member States not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile tests, including all EU Member States. This contributes to building the necessary confidence between States to reach our overarching goal of preventing an arms race in outer space.

As mentioned earlier, we support the continuation of discussions on norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours and the proposal for a new Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) in the draft resolution A/C.1/78/L.15. We believe that this approach is the most pragmatic, inclusive and efficient to address the most imminent threats and advance the PAROS agenda. While reaffirming the importance of developing legally-binding norms on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, the EU and its Member States believe that only through this process we can build common understandings on key concepts and objectives and, eventually building on this, to consider the negotiation of legally-binding instruments on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, avoiding as much as possible the duplication of efforts and redundancy of action.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.