Monday, August 11, 2014

Russia Proposes Treaty to ban all Weapons in Space

Among the initiatives that Russia has put forward in international forums is a comprehensive agreement to transform space into a zone completely free of any weapons. This agreement – a Treaty on Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects – was first proposed by Russia and China in February 2008 as an international legally-binding mechanism that would outlaw the militarization of space. An updated draft treaty was presented in June 2014 at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Russia is calling on the international community to start multilateral negotiations on the draft as soon as possible.

Together with Brazil, Indonesia and Sri-Lanka, Russia proposed a UN General Assembly draft resolution on “no first deployment of weapons in outer space.” The Russian Federation hopes that other countries will co-sponsor this draft in order to make the initiative a global one. This could be a positive first step towards concluding a comprehensive legally-enforceable instrument that would prohibit an arms race in space. Meanwhile, Russia has signed bilateral statements on this issue with Brazil, Indonesia, Sri-Lanka, Argentina, and Cuba.


note: no China, no India.  

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