MUN- MILITARISATION OF OUTER SPACE {position paper}

Model United Nations Position Paper:

Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

           

            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.