Russia has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on the Outer Space Treaty. This proposal was supported by America and Japan. Only Russia voted against it in the UN Security Council, while China remained absent. All the other 13 members voted in its support. The United States has criticized Russia for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution on the Outer Space Treaty.
Outer space treaty
- The Outer Space Treaty, formally the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, is a multilateral treaty that forms the basis of international space law.
- The treaty was negotiated and drafted under the auspices of the United Nations, it was opened for signature by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on 27 January 1967, and entered into force on 10 October 1967.
- Currently 114 countries are parties to the treaty, including all major spacefaring nations, and another 22 countries are signatories but have not yet ratified it.
Key Principles of the Outer Space Treaty
- The exploration and use of outer space shall be for the benefit and interests of all nations and shall be available to all mankind;
- Outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all States;
- Outer space is not subject to national appropriation, through claims of sovereignty, use or occupation, or by any other means;
- States shall not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or deploy them in any other way in outer space;
- The Moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes;
- Astronauts will be considered messengers of mankind;
- States shall be responsible for national space activities, whether carried out by governmental or non-governmental entities;
- States will be liable for damage caused by their space objects;
- States should avoid harmful pollution of space and celestial bodies.
UNSC proposal on outer space treaty
- The resolution placed a legally binding obligation on countries not to place weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear weapons, in space.
- The draft resolution states that “preventing an arms race in outer space would avert a serious threat to international peace and security”.
- Russia proposed an amendment to the US-Japan draft stating that an arms race in outer space should refer to all types of weapons – not just nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. However this proposal could not be passed.
New proposal needed
- Although the Outer Space Treaty prohibits establishing military bases, testing weapons, and conducting military maneuvers on celestial bodies, the treaty does not explicitly ban all military activities in space, nor the establishment of military space forces or space exploration. Prohibits the employment of conventional weapons. The legal procedure required for these sanctions is not specified in this treaty.
- The placement of nuclear weapons in orbit by a State Party would not only violate the Outer Space Treaty, but would also jeopardize the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial, and national security services that all satellites provide to societies around the world. . To prevent any such disaster in future, it is very important that this proposal be transformed into a binding and accountable law.
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises the potential threat of nuclear weapons in space, leading to Europe’s most significant land conflict since World War II between the United States and Russia; This has sent relations between the world’s two largest nuclear armed states to new lows.
Experts say a Russian nuclear space weapon could have the capability to destroy huge constellations of small satellites, such as SpaceX’s Starlink, which has been used successfully by Ukraine to counter Russian troops