Ibadan, 27 May 2024. – The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and Japan have embarked on a new collaboration stage under the “Space Law for New Space Actors” project. This collaboration enables UNOOSA to continuously provide capacity-building and legal advisory services which are specific to the needs of countries in Asia and the Pacific.
Japan’s contribution will help UNOOSA to deliver Space Law Technical Advisory Missions to the Philippines and Thailand. The missions will assess their needs in international space law, taking into account their specific judicial, administrative, and technical requirements. The objectives are consequently to establish a cross-government focal point network to organize international expertise and provide peer-to-peer networking opportunities, in-person training, and joint promotion of the project as it is implemented.
Speaking on the program, UNOOSA Director Aarti Holla-Maini said, “As more countries start to explore the opportunities space activities offer, it’s essential for our Office to provide support to enhance adherence to the existing regulatory framework governing outer space activities. Our partnership with the Government of Japan is invaluable in meeting this demand, particularly given the increasing number of space activities in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Likewise, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in Vienna, Kaifu Atsushi, said: “It is our honour to be able to support Asia-Pacific countries in drafting national space legislation and policy as well as raising awareness of the existing normative framework. Through this cooperation, we look forward to contributing to the further advancement of the rule of law in outer space.”
The Space Law for New Space Actors offers UN Member States tailor-made capacity-building to draft, revise and implement national space legislation and/or national space policies to achieve long-term sustainability and safe exploration of outer space.
