VIENNA, 31 October (UN Information Service) — A four-day workshop on
space law: “United Nations treaties on outer space: actions at the national
level”, will be held at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in
Daejeon, Republic of Korea, from 3 to 6 November 2003, for the benefit of
countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The workshop is organized jointly by
the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), within the
framework of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, and the
Republic of Korea. It is the second in a series of workshops that OOSA
intends to organize in order to build capacity in space law.

A continuous increase in space activities means that space laws,
policies and institutions are becoming increasingly important for a greater
number of countries worldwide. The increased space activities have also
highlighted the need for the ratification and effective implementation of
the five United Nations treaties on outer space. A review by the United
Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Legal
Subcommittee has revealed that one of the likely reasons for the low level
of ratification of some of the treaties is a lack of awareness of the
benefits of adherence to the outer space treaties.

The goals of the United Nations/Republic of Korea Workshop are: (a) to
promote understanding, acceptance and implementation of the United Nations
treaties and principles on outer space, especially in the Asia-Pacific
region; and (b) to discuss the implementation of the United Nations
treaties on outer space on the national level and identify common changes
that States might need to make to their national laws, when becoming Party
to the treaties, especially any changes that are not obvious and apply both
to space-faring and non-space-faring countries.

The workshop will divide the participants into two groups. One group
will consist of government officials, mainly from Ministries for Justice
and for Foreign Affairs. The participants in this group will be provided
with a detailed briefing on the United Nations treaties on outer space, as
well as national registries and licensing regimes. The other group will
consist of specialists in the field of space law, and will discuss specific
issues related to the implementation of the United Nations treaties on
outer space.

Over 100 participants, including policy and decision makers from the
following countries and international organizations, are expected to attend
the workshop: Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech
Republic, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Libya,
Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Republic
of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States, Uzbekistan,
Vanuatu, Viet Nam and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

The United Nations Programme on Space Applications is implemented by the
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and works to improve the use
of space science and technology for the economic and social development of
all nations, in particular developing countries. Under the Programme, the
Office conducts training courses, workshops, seminars and other activities
on applications and capacity building in subjects such as remote sensing,
communications, satellite meteorology, search and rescue, basic space
science, satellite navigation and space law.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) implements the
decisions of the General Assembly and of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses
of Outer Space and its two Subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical
Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. The Office is responsible for
promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space,
and assisting developing countries in using space science technology.
Located in Vienna, Austria, OOSA maintains a website at
http://www.oosa.unvienna.org.

United Nations Information Service Vienna (UNIS)
P.O.Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Tel.: (+43-1) 26060 4666, FAX: (+43-1) 26060 5899
Email: UNIS@unvienna.org