VIENNA, JUNE 1 – The Italian Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna, Ambassador Alessandro Cortese, addressed today the 65th session of COPUOS, the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Cortese highlighted the Italian space program, giving a special mention to astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, currently on board of the International Space Station.
Cortese also spoke of the Italian commitment to the Space 2030 agenda, a strategic document which aims to strengthen the contribution of space technology and applications to the achievement of sustainable development, and of the long-term sustainability of missions in outer space. He gave a perspective of the role that space activities and industries could play at the 2030 EXPO if the candidacy of the city of Rome, as advanced by the Italian government, will prevail.
The 65th Session of COPUOS will unfold until June 10. The Committee was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to govern the exploration and use of space for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development. The Committee was tasked with reviewing international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, studying space-related activities that could be undertaken by the United Nations, encouraging space research programmes, and studying legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space.
The Committee was instrumental in the creation of the five treaties and five principles of outer space. International cooperation in space exploration and the use of space technology applications to meet global development goals are discussed in the Committee every year. Owing to rapid advances in space technology, the space agenda is constantly evolving. The Committee therefore provides a unique platform at the global level to monitor and discuss these developments.
The Committee has two subsidiary bodies: the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, and the Legal Subcommittee, both established in 1961. The Committee reports to the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly, which adopts an annual resolution on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. (@OnuItalia)
