Forty-ninth session
Agenda item 61
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly,
Recognizing the common interest of all mankind in the exploration
and use of outer space for peaceful purposes,
Reaffirming the will of all States that the exploration
and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial
bodies, shall be for peaceful purposes, shall be carried out for
the benefit and in the interest of all countries, irrespective
of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall
be the province of all mankind,
Reaffirming also provisions of articles III and IV of the
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the
Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other
Celestial Bodies, 1/
Recalling the obligation of all States to observe the provisions
of the Charter of the United Nations regarding the use or threat
of use of force in their international relations, including in
their space activities,
Reaffirming further paragraph 80 of the Final Document
of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, 2/ in which
it is stated that in order to prevent an arms race in outer space
further measures should be taken and appropriate international
negotiations held in accordance with the spirit of the Treaty,
Recalling also its previous resolutions on this issue and
the Final Document adopted by the Tenth Conference of Heads of
State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Jakarta
from 1 to 6 September 1992, 3/ and taking note of the proposals
submitted to the General Assembly at its tenth special session
and at its regular sessions, and of the recommendations made to
the competent organs of the United Nations and to the Conference
on Disarmament,
Recognizing the grave danger for international peace and
security of an arms race in outer space and of developments contributing
to it,
Emphasizing the paramount importance of strict compliance
with existing arms limitation and disarmament agreements relevant
to outer space, including bilateral agreements, and with the existing
legal regime concerning the use of outer space,
Considering that wide participation in the legal regime
applicable to outer space could contribute to enhancing its effectiveness,
Noting that bilateral negotiations, begun in 1985 between
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States
of America, were conducted with the declared objective of working
out effective agreements aimed, inter alia, at preventing an arms
race in outer space,
Welcoming the re-establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee
on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space at the 1994 session
of the Conference on Disarmament, in the exercise of the negotiating
responsibilities of this sole multilateral body on disarmament,
to continue to examine and identify, through substantive and general
consideration, issues relevant to the prevention of an arms race
in outer space,
Noting also that the Ad Hoc Committee on the Prevention
of an Arms Race in Outer Space, taking into account its previous
efforts since its establishment in 1985 and seeking to enhance
its functioning in qualitative terms, continued the examination
and identification of various issues, existing agreements and
existing proposals, as well as future initiatives relevant to
the prevention of an arms race in outer space, 4/ and that this
contributed to a better understanding of a number of problems
and to a clearer perception of the various positions,
Emphasizing the mutually complementary nature of bilateral
and multilateral efforts in the field of preventing an arms race
in outer space, and hoping that concrete results will emerge from
those efforts as soon as possible,
Convinced that further measures should be examined in the
search for effective and verifiable bilateral and multilateral
agreements in order to prevent an arms race in outer space,
Stressing that the growing use of outer space increases
the need for greater transparency and better information on the
part of the international community,
Recalling in this context its previous resolutions, in
particular resolutions 45/55 B of 4 December 1990, 47/51 of 9
December 1992 and 48/74 A of 16 December 1993, in which, inter
alia, it reaffirmed the importance of confidence-building measures
as means conducive to ensuring the attainment of the objective
of the prevention of an arms race in outer space,
Conscious of the benefits of confidence- and security-building
measures in the military field,
Recognizing that there was wide agreement in the Ad Hoc
Committee that the conclusion of an international agreement or
agreements to prevent an arms race in outer space remained the
fundamental task of the Committee and that the concrete proposals
on confidence-building measures could form an integral part of
such agreements,
1. Reaffirms the importance and urgency of preventing an
arms race in outer space and the readiness of all States to contribute
to that common objective, in conformity with the provisions of
the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in
the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and
Other Celestial Bodies;
2. Reaffirms its recognition, as stated in the report of
the Ad Hoc Committee on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer
Space, that the legal regime applicable to outer space by itself
does not guarantee the prevention of an arms race in outer space,
that this legal regime plays a significant role in the prevention
of an arms race in that environment, that there is a need to consolidate
and reinforce that regime and enhance its effectiveness, and that
it is important strictly to comply with existing agreements, both
bilateral and multilateral;
3. Emphasizes the necessity of further measures with appropriate
and effective provisions for verification to prevent an arms race
in outer space;
4. Calls upon all States, in particular those with major
space capabilities, to contribute actively to the objective of
the peaceful use of outer space and of the prevention of an arms
race in outer space and to refrain from actions contrary to that
objective and to the relevant existing treaties in the interest
of maintaining international peace and security and promoting
international cooperation;
5. Reiterates that the Conference on Disarmament, as the
single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, has the primary
role in the negotiation of a multilateral agreement or agreements,
as appropriate, on the prevention of an arms race in outer space
in all its aspects;
6. Requests the Conference on Disarmament to consider as
a matter of priority the question of preventing an arms race in
outer space;
7. Also requests the Conference on Disarmament to intensify
its consideration of the question of the prevention of an arms
race in outer space in all its aspects, building upon areas of
convergence and taking into account relevant proposals and initiatives,
including those presented in the Ad Hoc Committee at the 1994
session of the Conference and at the forty-ninth session of the
General Assembly;
8. Further requests the Conference on Disarmament to re-establish
an ad hoc committee with an adequate mandate at the beginning
of its 1995 session and to continue building upon areas of convergence,
taking into account the work undertaken since 1985, with a view
to undertaking negotiations for the conclusion of an agreement
or agreements, as appropriate, to prevent an arms race in outer
space in all its aspects;
9. Recognizes, in this respect, the growing convergence
of views on the elaboration of measures designed to strengthen
transparency, confidence and security in the peaceful uses of
outer space;
10. Urges the Russian Federation and the United States
of America to resume their bilateral negotiations with a view
to reaching early agreement for preventing an arms race in outer
space, and to advise the Conference on Disarmament periodically
of the progress of their bilateral sessions so as to facilitate
its work;
11. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its
fiftieth session the item entitled "Prevention of an arms
race in outer space".
90th plenary meeting
15 December 1994
__________
1/ Resolution 2222 (XXI), annex.
2/ Resolution S-10/2.
3/ See A/47/675-S/24816, annex, chap. II, para. 45; see Official
Records of the Security Council, Forty-seventh Year, Supplement
for October, November and December 1992, document S/24816.
4/ See Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-ninth Session,
Supplement No. 27 (A/49/27), para. 32 (para. 5 of the quoted text).