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                                                 A/RES/42/33

                                                 84th plenary meeting

                                                 30 November 1987



                 Prevention of an arms race in outer space



          The General Assembly,



          Inspired by the great prospects opening up before mankind as a result

 of man's entry into outer space,



          Recognizing the common interest of all mankind in the exploration and

 use of outer space for peaceful purposes,



          Reaffirming that the exploration and use of outer space, including

 the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and

 in the interest of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or

 scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind,



          Reaffirming further the will of all States that the exploration and

 use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be

 for peaceful purposes,



          Recalling that the States parties to the Treaty on Principles

 Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space,

 including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, have undertaken, in

 article III, to carry on activities in the exploration and use of outer space,

 including the Moon and other celestial bodies, in accordance with

 international law and the Charter of the United Nations, in the interest of

 maintaining international peace and security and promoting international

 co-operation and understanding,



          Reaffirming, in particular, article IV of the above-mentioned Treaty,

 which stipulates that States parties to the Treaty undertake not to place in

 orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds

 of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies or

 station such weapons in outer space in any other manner,



          Reaffirming also paragraph 80 of the Final Document of the Tenth

 Special Session of the General Assembly, the first special session devoted to

 disarmament, in which it is stated that, in order to prevent an arms race in

 outer space, further measures should be taken and appropriate international

 negotiations held in accordance with the spirit of the Treaty,



          Recalling its resolutions 36/97 C and 36/99 of 9 December 1981, as

 well as resolutions 37/83 of 9 December 1982, 37/99 D of 13 December 1982,

 38/70 of 15 December 1983, 39/59 of 12 December 1984, 40/87 of

 12 December 1985, and 41/53 of 3 December 1986 and the relevant paragraphs of

 the Political Declaration adopted by the Eighth Conference of Heads of State

 or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Harare from 1 to

 6 September 1986,



          Gravely concerned at the danger posed to all mankind by an arms race

 in outer space and, in particular, by the impending threat of the exacerbation

 of the current state of insecurity by developments that could further

 undermine international peace and security and retard the pursuit of general

 and complete disarmament,



          Mindful of the widespread interest expressed by Member States in the

 course of the negotiations on and following the adoption of the

 above-mentioned Treaty in ensuring that the exploration and use of outer space

 should be for peaceful purposes, and taking note of proposals submitted to the

 General Assembly at its tenth special session and at its regular sessions and

 to the Conference on Disarmament,



          Noting the grave concern expressed by the Second United Nations

 Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at the

 extension of an arms race into outer space and the recommendations made to the

 competent organs of the United Nations, in particular the General Assembly,

 and also to the Committee on Disarmament,



          Convinced that further measures are needed for the prevention of an

 arms race in outer space,



          Recognizing that, in the context of multilateral negotiations for

 preventing an arms race in outer space, bilateral negotiations between the

 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America could

 make a significant contribution to such an objective, in accordance with

 paragraph 27 of the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session,



          Noting with satisfaction that bilateral negotiations between the

 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America have

 continued since 1985 on a complex of questions concerning space and nuclear

 arms, both strategic and intermediate-range, and in their relationship, with

 the declared objective, endorsed in the joint statement of their leaders on

 21 November 1985, of working out effective agreements aimed, inter alia, at

 preventing an arms race in outer space,



          Anxious that concrete results should emerge from these negotiations

 as soon as possible,



          Taking note of that part of the report of the Conference on

 Disarmament relating to this question,



          Welcoming the re-establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee on the

 prevention of an arms race in outer space during the 1987 session of the

 Conference on Disarmament, in the exercise of the negotiating responsibilities

 of this sole multilateral negotiating body on disarmament, to continue to

 examine and to identify through substantive and general consideration issues

 relevant to the prevention of an arms race in outer space,



          Noting that the work accomplished in 1987 by the Ad Hoc Committee of

 the Conference on Disarmament has contributed to a fuller identification of

 issues and a better understanding of a number of problems and to a clearer

 perception of the various positions,



          1.   Recalls the obligation of all States to refrain from the threat

 or use of force in their space activities;



          2.   Reaffirms that general and complete disarmament under effective

 international control warrants that outer space shall be used exclusively for

 peaceful purposes and that it shall not become an arena for an arms race;



          3.   Emphasizes that further measures with appropriate and effective

 provisions for verification to prevent an arms race in outer space should be

 adopted by the international community;



          4.   Calls upon all States, in particular those with major space

 capabilities, to contribute actively to the objective of the peaceful use of

 outer space and to take immediate measures to prevent an arms race in outer

 space in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and

 promoting international co-operation and understanding;



          5.   Recognizes, as stated in the report of the Ad Hoc Committee of

 the Conference on Disarmament, that the legal regime applicable to outer

 space, as such, is not sufficient to guarantee the prevention of an arms race

 in outer space, the significant role that regime plays in the prevention of an

 arms race in that environment, the need to consolidate and reinforce that

 regime and to enhance its effectiveness, and the importance of strict

 compliance with existing agreements, both bilateral and multilateral;



          6.   Reiterates that the Conference on Disarmament, as the single

 multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, has the primary role in the

 negotiation of a multilateral agreement or agreements, as appropriate, on the

 prevention of an arms race in outer space in all its aspects;



          7.   Requests the Conference on Disarmament to consider as a matter

 of priority the question of preventing an arms race in outer space;



          8.   Also requests the Conference on Disarmament to intensify its

 consideration of the question of the prevention of an arms race in outer space

 in all its aspects, taking into account all relevant proposals, including

 those presented in the Ad Hoc Committee on the prevention of an arms race in

 outer space at the 1987 session of the Conference and at the forty-second

 session of the General Assembly;



          9.   Further requests the Conference on Disarmament to re-establish

 an ad hoc committee with an adequate mandate at the beginning of its 1988

 session, with a view to undertaking negotiations for the conclusion of an

 agreement or agreements, as appropriate, to prevent an arms race in outer

 space in all its aspects;



          10.  Urges the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United

 States of America to pursue intensively their bilateral negotiations in a

 constructive spirit aimed at reaching early agreement for preventing an arms

 race in outer space, and to advise the Conference on Disarmament periodically

 of the progress of their bilateral sessions so as to facilitate its work;



          11.  Calls upon all States, especially those with major space

 capabilities, to refrain, in their activities relating to outer space, from

 actions contrary to the observance of the relevant existing treaties or to the

 objective of preventing an arms race in outer space;



          12.  Takes note that the study on disarmament problems relating to

 outer space and the consequence of extending the arms race into outer space,

 called for in resolution 41/53, has been prepared by the United Nations

 Institute for Disarmament Research and that, after a final meeting of the

 group of experts held in September 1987, the report was finalized and being

 prepared for publication in autumn 1987;



          13.  Requests the Secretary-General to invite the views of Member

 States on all aspects of the question of the prevention of an arms race in

 outer space and to submit a report to the General Assembly at its forty-third

 session;



          14.  Requests the Conference on Disarmament to report on its

 consideration of this subject to the General Assembly at its forty-third
 session;



          15.  Requests the Secretary-General to transmit to the Conference on

 Disarmament all documents relating to the consideration of this subject by the

 General Assembly at its forty-second session;



          16.  Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-third

 session the item entitled "Prevention of an arms race in outer space".



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