Philippines Advocates for Responsible Behavior in Outer Space in United Nations in Geneva
Director Noelle Riza D. Castillo, Director of Space Policy and International Cooperation at the Philippine Space Agency, served as one of the panelists at the Philippine-led side event on “The Duty of Due Regard as a Foundational Principle of Responsible Behavior in Outer Space.”
GENEVA 05 September 2023 – The Philippines urged a United Nations panel tasked with elaborating norms of responsible behavior in outer space to elaborate the duty of “due regard,” a provision included but not well defined in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
“The duty of due regard is a foundational principle of responsible behavior in space,” noted Kristine Leilani R. Salle, Philippine Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, during an event organized by the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in Geneva on 28 August on the sideline of the said panel’s final meeting, which was held in Geneva from 28 August to 1 September.
In elaborating this principle, the Philippine Mission submitted a working paper to the said panel, which is officially called the Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats Through Norms, Rules, and Principle of Responsible Behaviors (OEWG). The said paper argues that the “consistency in international law demands that the interpretation of the duty of ‘due regard’ in the context of international space law does not dramatically depart from its existing application under the law of the sea.”
“Law of the sea jurisprudence has since clarified that the duty of ‘due regard’ represents a balancing of rights and interests between and among states, and between states and the international community as a whole,” explained Noelle Riza D. Castillo, Director of Space Policy and International Cooperation at the Philippine Space Agency.
During the OEWG’s formal sessions, a large number of countries stressed that all space activities must be conducted in compliance with this “due regard” obligation. There was also growing support for a set of measures based on this principle.
These include a moratorium on any intentional creation of space debris and a mechanism for exchanges of notifications related to rocket launches. Many countries, including the Philippines, are vulnerable to debris falling from rocket launches.
Despite these converging views, the OEWG was unable to agree on a set of recommendations to the United Nations General Assembly. This was because the group was required to operate on the basis of consensus, which means that any one state can veto the proceedings.
Many states, however, saw the OEWG as the beginning of the conversation.
“The work we have done in this OEWG is an excellent starting point that complements other efforts related to enhancing outer space security,” said Second Secretary Jonelle John S. Domingo, who spoke on behalf of thirty-nine states.
“The OEWG has proven itself as a constructive platform for an inclusive dialogue among Member States with the participation of all relevant stakeholders on reducing space threats,” Domingo continued.
The joint statement delivered by the Filipino diplomat was endorsed by Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. END
Second Secretary Jonelle John S. Domingo delivers a Joint Statement on behalf of thirty-nine states at the closing session of the 4th Session of the Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats Through Norms, Rules, and Principles of Responsible Behaviors.
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