Contribution of UN’s Outer Space Activities to Sustainable Development and Importance of Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management Emphasized

VIENNA, 2 June (UN Information Service) — Julian Robert Hunte,
President of the fifty-eighth session of the United Nations General
Assembly, addressed the opening meeting of the United Nations Committee on
the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in Vienna today. The key item on
the agenda of the COPUOS meeting will be finalizing the preparations for
the General Assembly’s review of the implementation of the recommendations
of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses
of Outer Space (UNISPACE III) in October 2004.

Mr. Hunte said that the General Assembly was looking forward to
receiving the COPUOS report in October and welcomed the decision of COPUOS
to include in its report synergies between the implementation of the
recommendations of UNISPACE III and the implementation of the commitments
made in the United Nations Millennium Declaration and outcome documents of
the World Summits for Sustainable Development and on the Information
Society in its report. He underlined that such an approach fosters
cooperation and consensus in addressing development objectives, and meeting
internationally agreed-upon development goals, including the Millennium
Development Goals.

Noting the unique and vital responsibility of COPUOS in highlighting the
role that space science and technology can play in assisting the United
Nations in achieving its economic and social development goals, Mr. Hunte
underlined that one of the most important achievements of COPUOS has been
the establishment of regional centres for space science and technology
education, affiliated with the United Nations. These centres help develop
and strengthen the skills and knowledge of university educators, and
research and application scientists in the areas of space science and
technology. As such, the centres contribute to sustainable development in
those countries and regions.

Mr. Hunte drew attention to the growing role that space-based solutions
are playing in mitigating the catastrophic effects of natural disasters,
and noted that the workshops, seminars and symposia conducted within the
framework of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications make a
distinct contribution in this field. Pointing out that natural disasters
constitute one of the most critical challenges to sustainable development,
Mr. Hunte noted that the reduction and mitigation of natural disasters is
among the priorities of the United Nations, and a particular issue for the
General Assembly.

Mr. Hunte commended the Committee for its continuing commitment and
initiatives to ensure that the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space
benefit all countries, particularly those of the developing world.

COPUOS was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to review the scope of
international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, to devise
programmes in this field to be undertaken under United Nations auspices, to
encourage continued research and the dissemination of information on outer
space matters and to study legal problems arising from the exploration of
outer space. COPUOS and its two Subcommittees each meet annually to
consider questions put before them by the General Assembly, reports
submitted to them and issues raised by the Member States. The Committee and
the Subcommittees, working on the basis of consensus, make recommendations
to the General Assembly.

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