Model United Nations Position Paper:
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
Billy Han
In the history of space exploration, there has yet to be a violation with the
peaceful international space laws currently set in place under the United Nations
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. This does not mean that there should be
a less active approach to continue to discuss the agreements on the peaceful uses of outer
space. As countries such as Iran, China, and North Korea continue to expand their space
programs, future possibilities of militarization, weaponization, and arms races will
continue to threaten the stability of the world. The Russian Federation, a leader in space
exploration and use, supports the peaceful use of outer space. A peaceful outer space will
prevent possible arms races that will lead to, with today's technology, mass destruction.
Space should be used for the further advancement and education of mankind, not
for the expansion of militaries and countries. The militarization of outer space has been
occurring since the beginning of space exploration. Militaries around the world rely on
satellites on many processes which are not at all peaceful, such as using them to direct
bombing raids or to receive pictures of military camps. These satellites are also used,
however, in the Global Positioning System in which many people rely on. This marks the
fine line on the militarization of space; the operation of dual-use technologies. The UN
must re-evaluate the current treaty set in place. Under the Outer Space Treaty written in
1967, it prevents signatories from installing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in
Earth's orbit, but fails to discuss the use of satellites as military devices. Also, the Outer
Space Treaty only addresses and bans the uses of WMDs. It fails to mention conventional
weapons that could be sent into space. These two points are glaring holes in the current
treaties that put some countries at an advantage over others.
In order to prevent these problems from arising, the Russian Federation believes
that the ideas any form of weapons should be banned from entering outer space. Under
the current Outer Space Treaty and treaties drafted by the UN's Committee on the
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, there is still no ban on bringing conventional weapons and
anti-satellite weapons into space. The United States, for example, has successfully tested
some of their anti-satellite weapons in space.
Russia believes that the weaponization of outer space will eventually lead to an
arms race. These arms races, as shown in history, leads to the risks of mass destruction
and all out war. In order to prevent mass destruction from happening, the Russian
Federation believes that there should be a prohibition on all types of weapons in outer
space. A ban on all weapons, along with continued cooperation with other countries, is
the only way to continue the current peace in outer space.