Establishment of Action Teams

Establishment of Action Teams

In 2001, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee agreed that the recommendations of UNISPACE III could be assessed and implemented through voluntary leadership by individual Member States and their appropriate governmental institutions in relation to specific actions listed in the Vienna Declaration. The Subcommittee also agreed that the leaders would conduct discussions within their teams to seek the broadest possible participation of non-governmental entities. Noting that 33 actions were recommended in the Vienna Declaration as elements of a strategy to address global challenges in the future, the Subcommittee agreed to conduct a survey among Member States to identify their level of interest and priority for each action. Through the survey, conducted in early 2001, each Member State was invited to indicate whether it wished to be the leader or a member of a team established for the purpose of carrying out a recommended action. Each Member State was also invited to identify non-governmental entities that wished to be members of a team. The Office for Outer Space Affairs compiled the results of the survey for consideration by the Committee at its session in 2001.

On the basis of the results of the survey, the Committee established 11 action teams to implement the recommendations of UNISPACE III that had been accorded highest priority by Member States or for which there had been an offer by a Member State to lead associated activities. The Committee established the twelfth action team at its session in 2003.

The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) created teams to support the implementation of many of the recommendations contained in the Vienna Declaration, as well as the work of the action teams established by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

SGAC selected registration with UNISPACE III Implementation Action Teams was submitted to the Secretariat at the UN COPUOS General Assembly (44th Session). SGAC originally registered with 27 Action Teams and Recommendation items but was later invited to also join Action Team 17. Full listing may be found in A/AC.105/C.1/2002/CRP.22 (8 March 2002).

Among the 33 recommendations of the Vienna Declaration, 12 were identified for implementation by the action teams. As part of their agenda items, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its subcommittees are implementing 11 more recommendations. In addition to those 23 recommendations, five other recommendations are being implemented by the Office for Outer Space Affairs or by other international entities. Of the remaining five recommendations, one recommendation calls for action to promote further the peaceful uses of outer space through cooperation between “space-faring” and “non-space-faring” countries, as well as among developing countries, and through the involvement of civil society. This is already being undertaken through a large number of follow-up activities of UNISPACE III. There are therefore four recommendations that remain to be addressed. Those recommendations call for actions (a) to ensure, to the extent possible, that all space activities, in particular those which may have harmful effects on the local and global environment, are carried out in a manner that limits such effects (recommendation 5); (b) to establish or strengthen national mechanisms to coordinate the appropriate development of space activities and foster the participation of all the sectors concerned (recommendation 19); (c) to consider creating awards to recognize outstanding contributions in space activity, in particular for youth (recommendation 23); and (d) to consider, to the extent feasible, the recommendations of the regional preparatory conferences for UNISPACE III in appropriate forums (recommendation 30).