Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 66
The response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underlined the importance of the international community...
Conclusion
The response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underlined the importance of the international community taking a united approach in the face of irresponsible and aggressive behaviour. We welcome the UK’s leading role at the United Nations in seeking to achieve a consensus on responsible norms and behaviours in space and we support and encourage the Government in continuing to drive this work forward. An update on progress to date should be included in the Department’s response to this report.
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the Committee’s support in continuing to take a leading role at the United Nations on responsible space behaviours. The MOD is working closely with the FCDO on this initiative and the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a UK-sponsored resolution (A/RES/76/231) on 24 December 2021.
Paragraph Reference:
66
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
We welcome the Committee’s support in continuing to take a leading role at the United Nations on responsible space behaviours. Our aim is to strengthen strategic stability, reduce risk of escalation and conflict and protect the space environment as a key operational domain. The MOD is working closely with the FCDO on this initiative. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a UK-sponsored resolution (A/RES/76/231) on 24 December 2021, which established an open-ended working group (OEWG) mandated to make recommendations on possible norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours relating to threats by States to space systems and to submit these in a report to UNGA at its seventy-eighth session in 2023.1 This is a significant milestone in UN space security discussions and is a result of intensive UK diplomacy over the preceding two years. The OEWG has met twice in 2022 (May and September) and will meet twice more in 2023 (February and August) before producing its recommendations. The UK has set out its position in a number of statements and working papers, which can be found on the OEWG webpage.2 Discussions have been fruitful and have detected increasing support amongst countries for the idea of non-binding responsible space behaviours albeit as a step towards future legally binding instruments. We will continue to engage strongly in the OEWG and other UN space discussions. We are working closely with a range of international partners to build further support for responsible space behaviours and counter ideas we consider to be unworkable, such as Russia and China’s proposed Treaty for the Prevention of Weapons in Space and the Threat or Use of Force against Space Objects (PPWT). On 3 October, the Government announced a UK commitment not to destructively test direct ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missiles, as part of our enduring efforts to promote responsible space behaviours. On 1 November, UNGA adopted a new US-sponsored resolution calling on States to make the same commitment.3 It received 154 votes in favour indicating significant global support to refrain from such tests.