Letter from the Secretary General

Transcription

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2 Letter from the Secretary General Esteemed delegates, It is my sincere pleasure to welcome you to the 12 th annual United Nations Society Fall conference, CarleMUN This year, I have the distinct honour of serving as the Secretary General of CarleMUN, and I hope to meet all of you throughout the conference. For those of you who are new to the UNS, CarleMUN will be a new experience full of surprises and excitement and will hopefully inspire you to continue participating in MUN for years to come. While the initial research may seem overwhelming, the background guides may seem immense, the committee room may seem daunting and large; you will find your feet. The United Nations Society has always seen Model UN as more than just a chance to debate contemporary issues in international affairs; more than simply a chance to take what you have learned in class and apply it to the real-world. It is an opportunity to engage with a diverse range of students in an academic and social context and refine your skills of negotiation, diplomacy, communication, creativity, collaboration, and quick thinking. As you navigate the conference weekend, both inside and outside of the committee room, I would encourage you to consider the role that your participation will play. As I will repeat throughout the year, you will only get out of MUN what you are willing to put in. Though somewhat cliché, it is appropriate for an activity that relies almost exclusively on delegate participation.

3 I will leave you with one final thought before you join us on September 25 th for the Opening Ceremonies of CarleMUN. Whether you have been doing Model United Nations for years, or whether this is your first, brave venture into the unknown, you will be stepping into a room of people each with their own passions, perspectives and philosophies. Embrace the opportunity to meet new people, gain new experiences and hone your skills as a global citizen. Sincerely, Alex Berryman President, United Nations Society Secretary General, CarleMUN 2015

4 Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) A Word from Your Chairs Hello delegates, Welcome to the committee. My name is Simon Hunt and I am over the moon to be your vice-chair for COPUOS at CarleMUN alongside my good friend, Kiernan McClelland. For my part, I have been a stalwart member of the UN Society for 4 years, and modestly consider myself a clear sign of the good Model UN can bring to a delegate. I entered my first In-House - a GA, representing Kazakhstan, sandwiched between Israel and Korea DPRK, with Palestine fuming over their shoulder - a stuttering; incoherent mess and emerged, several conferences later, a sufficiently cogent mess. In the last two years I've traveled to 14 conferences in 3 countries - by the end of the year I plan to have represented Carleton in every city the Society has ever traveled to - and as your Co-Director of Training for I hope to spark the same love of travel, debate and good cheer that I've been given by my predecessors.

5 I've known for a long time that I was going to be involved in academics at an early point in my life, childhood debates about superheroes turned into questions about the kind of topics MUN engenders. I hope that you leave this committee with a similar passion, and am willing to help your preparation in any way I can. If you feel lost at any point in the CarleMUN process, please feel free to get in touch via (simon.training@unsociety.com) or in person. I look forward to meeting you all and getting to know you through the year, at CarleMUN, at our training sessions and at our external conferences. If you have any questions any at all feel free to get in touch. And with that, I quote the best captain of all time Malcolm Reynolds in telling the delegates of COPUOS that no matter how long the arm of adversity gets, get a little further. I have every faith that you all will. Thank you, Simon Hunt

6 Hello everyone, I am still saddened to see that although humankind has progressed so far scientifically as to breach the heavens and land on the barren surfaces of extraterrestrial planets, we still a have not perfected the means of telling a funny space pun. With that out of the way, hello everyone. My name is Kiernan McClelland. Over the course of the conference I will be acting as the co-chair for COPUOS. My academic expertise surrounds the application of space power, space weaponization, and the future dynamics of modern warfare. As such, I am absolutely thrilled and honored to help chair this truly exceptional and unique committee. Before we move on, I would like to quickly express to the delegates attending COPUOS, as well as those new and returning members attending the other committees, the importance of the committee you all are about to embark on. Before I explain the importance, however, there is one truth that I would like to make known to all of you right now and right here in this introduction: Now, this is a truth that may come hard to a few of you but it is a truth which is grounded in the very reality of your own existence within this particular era of human history. You will likely never go into outer space. You will likely never see, with your own eyes, the blue sphere that we call Earth. Nor will you likely ever walk on the moon, or on Mars, or on any other planet. So then, why are the topics covered in COPUOS so important? Our generation lives during an era of supreme importance to the future ventures of those space-faring humans that will be our ancestors.

7 We are, in fact, the progenitors of space policy that will govern the activities of humankind for centuries to come. We, at this point of human history, hold in our hands the ability to both protect and even destroy the natural destiny of humankind to explore not just our universe, but those areas of our existence that we can t even comprehend. And that, delegates, that s really exciting. And with that, I quote the best star fleet captain of all time - Jean-Luc Piccard - in telling the delegates of COPUOS to make it so. I have every faith that you all will. Thank you, Kiernan McClelland

8 What is Model UN? Model United Nations (also Model UN or MUN, as it will be referred to both here in this background guide and elsewhere throughout the year) is an academic simulation of an international body, which aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, and diplomacy. As the name suggests Model UN started as simulations of bodies of the United Nations but many conferences will contain non-un bodies as featured at CarleMUN this year, with committees like Canada 1984, France 1792, and the International Press Forum. Delegates, as participants of Model UN are called, will generally represent a country as its ambassador to the committee at hand. Delegates are tasked with representing their nation's position through both speeches and resolutions formal policy documents that are released on behalf of the entire committee. It is easy in a committee, particularly one such as COPUOS that deals with a scientific topic, to become mired in the details and lose sight of the true purpose of effective policy. That is, to be useful enough to cover both current issues and those that may arise in the future, accessible enough that it can be understood by a layperson, and efficient enough that it can be executed well without too much need for evaluation or interpretation in terms of meaning. Before we go any further in this background guide I want to provide a reassurance that no delegate is required to be an expert in any of the physics that underpin this committee. While research is incredibly important, we are not expecting you to have an encyclopedic knowledge of scientific technobabble. This is a committee about

9 policy, and policy is rarely specific to technology. A basic understanding of space and the orbits will be enough for any delegate. Ambassadors are not expected to be experts on every matter assigned to them for example Cheng Jingye, the current Chinese ambassador to COPUOS has previously served on the International Narcotics Control Board, the UN Industrial Development Organization and just last month made a statement on Iran's nuclear situation. It would be unreasonable to expect more of you as delegates than we expect of the people that you represent. How does COPUOS work? COPUOS is generally a consensus body, which means that any decision must be unanimously agreed on by every delegate. However article XV of the Outer Space Treaty allows for it to be amended by a simple majority (50%+1 of the States party to the Treaty). As such the majority of decisions and documents handled by this committee will be in the form of amendments to the Treaty.

10 Technology in Committee Laptop Policy No laptops are to be used during formal committee discussion. Laptops may be used during breaks, outside the committee room and during unmoderated caucuses. Resolutions will be expected to be submitted electronically. Chairs will provide more information regarding methods for submitting working papers and resolutions during the first committee session. Twitter The society and International Press Forum will be live-tweeting the events of the conference. Both will be tagging their tweets #CarleMUN, as well as reading and retweeting other tweets in #CarleMUN throughout the conference. A live Twitter feed will be featured in committee rooms to allow for inter-committee interactions and updates. Be sure to for updates throughout the conference.

11 Introduction The world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957 from the wonderfully Soviet-titled No1/5 Site in what is now Kazakhstan. It was the size of a beach ball, weighed 83kg, cost around the equivalent of $32 million and could orbit the earth in 98 minutes. Sputnik orbited the earth for exactly 3 months before it's batteries ran out, it's orbit decayed and it crashed into Earth's atmosphere at 8.1 km/s, in which time OKB-1, the Russian Space Agency, had already sent up a second satellite carrying the first living animal, a dog named Laika. In late January 1958 the Americans had launched their own satellite, Explorer I, and the Space Age had truly begun. The defining feature of the early Space Age was what is now known as the Space Race a continued effort by the USA and USSR to reach spaceflight milestones faster than the other. Both nations had an interest in ensuring free access to space, while preventing a nuclear arms race as was being seen terrestrially. The United Nations created the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in December Since that date, COPUOS has passed 5 resolutions and has been tasked by the General Assembly to implement two more. This committee will be tasked with the discussion and possible amendment of the very first, the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, or TPGASEUOSMOCB for short, commonly referred to as The Outer Space Treaty.

12 Since its inception, COPUOS has operated as a consensus body, meaning that for any decision to be accepted it must either receive the support or abstention of every single delegation an incredible task of diplomacy. Article XV of the Outer Space Treaty allows for the amendment of the Treaty by a simple majority, but if COPUOS members wish to create new treaties, they will be expected to follow the correct procedure. It is worth noting here that delegates to COPUOS do not have the power to simply rewrite major international treaties with a majority vote. In order for treaties to become law, they must be ratified by the parties to it, and the same is true of major amendments to a treaty. Instead, you will be creating recommendations to the states party to the treaty on how it should be amended. In this scenario, the recommendations you make here would be discussed in a separate summit on the treaty, where they might be ignored, or where additional diplomacy may have to be done to convince the major parties to adopt the amendments to the treaty. Finally, the delegates to the treaty summit bring home their copy of the signed treaty to be approved, or ratified, by their governments. This is part of the reason why the United States is not a party to many international treaties, as their executive branch, which attends summits on matter such as but not limited to space, is separate from their legislative branch, who do not necessarily share their enthusiasm on all issues. All that notwithstanding, delegates can be fairly confident that the recommendations they make will be adopted, eventually, into international law. We must, however, understand some aspects of international law before continuing for a number of key reasons. Firstly it must be emphasized that while substantive matters will be

13 decided by majority vote, individual countries, especially those that already have expansive space programs, still retain a great deal of power regarding whether or not to actually agree to these recommendations as a matter of law. While this fact won t be built into the actual committee structure, CarleMUN prides itself on the creation of a realistic diplomatic simulation and the successful delegate will keep these intricacies of international diplomacy in mind while conducting negotiations. Placing the cost or responsibility for a program in a resolution is though often convenient rarely a valid solution, and will not be looked upon favourably by the dais. The UN much less Model UN does not mandate or demand. Instead delegates will be recommending changes to the treaty or reaffirming the existing clauses. This is because in the United Nations power flows, slowly and begrudgingly, from its member states and not the other way around. The United Nations is not a worldwide legislative body, but is rather a place where representatives of fully sovereign, independent countries meet to try and build consensus on important and pressing issues of the day. The purpose of this committee is to provide a fun, realistic simulation of international politics. Now on to the topics themselves!

14 Topic One: The Outer Space Treaty The Outer Space Treaty is a rare example of major powers coming together in the spirit of the United Nations to limit their own powers in the common interest of the whole planet. However, the Outer Space Treaty was created in 1966, and is concerned with the issues of the Space Age and of course of the Cold War. COPUOS is the body responsible for reviewing and overseeing international treaties related to outer space. As delegates to COPUOS, you will be tasked with updating the Outer Space Treaty in order to meet the challenges of the modern day, as seen in two separate subtopics of discussion: asteroid exploitation and space colonization. Subtopic One: Asteroid Mining By the time the Outer Space Treaty was written two important spaceflight milestones had been reached the first week-long mission and the first docking of two objects in space. While these two factors pointed to the conceptual possibility of a space station, national governments would not admit to development of such technologies for another 13 years, though the USSR had been developing technologies as far back as As such, the Treaty's language requires interpretation to be applied to permanent objects in space.

15 Article I of the Outer Space Treaty declares space the province of all mankind and declares space free for exploration and use, with free access to all areas of celestial bodies and freedom of scientific investigation, States being obliged to facilitate and encourage international co-operation in such investigation. Space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, according to Article II and while A State Party to the Treaty on whose registry an object launched into outer space is carried shall retain jurisdiction and control over such object, and over any personnel thereof according to Article VIII, Article XII states All stations, installations, equipment, and space vehicles on the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be open to representatives of other States Parties to the Treaty on a basis of reciprocity. The spirit of the Treaty space as an international realm, not owned by any single state is a beautiful one, and one that was easy to adhere to in 1958, as the technology nations were willing to admit ownership of was concerned with the Space Race, as mentioned in the introduction. Today's zeitgeist is significantly different. If a nation or indeed a company wants to mine an asteroid should they be entitled to a location that they scout? The Outer Space Treaty as written would say no if one of the three leading corporations in the race to privately mine space (Planetary Resources, Deep Space Industries, and Kepler Energy and Space Engineering) were to spend time and energy scouting the composition of an asteroid, they would be powerless to stop either of their rivals from simply waiting until the scouting company sent mining equipment to the asteroid and simultaneously mining it.

16 This is assuming that asteroid mining is even allowed under the treaty Article IX states that A State Party to the Treaty which has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by another State Party in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, may request consultation concerning the activity or experiment, which implies that any State Party to the Treaty can veto the actions of another, given that mining an asteroid would prevent it's use by another. Asteroid mining is an incredibly relevant technology. The science of asteroids is not fully understood, but many were not created in the same manner as Earth a formation in incredible heat causing a surface that was largely liquid and thus have valuable heavy metals close to or on their surface, as they sunk below the Earth's crust. This means that the mining of such asteroids could be an incredibly lucrative exercise, especially given that there are no known environmental concerns to be had. However asteroid mining is incredibly cost-prohibitive, and the long-term impacts are not fully understood. Further complicating this issue is the language of Article VI. When activities are carried on in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, by an international organization, responsibility for compliance with this Treaty shall be borne both by the international organization and by the States Parties to the Treaty participating in such organization is a sentence that would fill many company shareholders with dread to ensure compliance it would not be difficult to argue their company's doings should be

17 wholly overseen by their government, especially as the government seeks to enter as a market competitor. All three previously named companies are American, and the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) has announced its' intentions to launch a Robotic Asteroid Prospector, which would compete for resources but with the fundamental advantage of complete oversight of all private companies in the USA. While the committee is a United Nations one, and as such non-state actors will not be present at the table, it behooves a delegate to consider how this treaty effects their nation, future and present. Too much oversight can lead to a company moving overseas, losing the important income stream that taxation will bring. The present state of rights in space is anathema to a Capitalist worldview of how property rights ought to be. This is not fundamentally bad, but is a state of affairs that must be considered when the final document is considered, will there enough justification to create and maintain a company that will push the envelope of technologies in space? Subtopic Two: Space Colonization The major hurdle standing in the way of asteroid mining is the cost NASA's OSIRIS-REx study showed that it would cost just over $1bn to return $3600 worth of materials to Earth. Discussion of asteroid mining tends to predicate on the idea that materials would not return to Earth the majority of the aforementioned cost is sunk

18 into ensure survival upon re-entry and instead be processed at a space colony. There are three hypothetically parts of the Earth-Moon system which could be colonized, in rough order of feasibility they are: Earth-Moon Lagrange Points 4/5; the Lunar poles and Sub- Lunar surface. While the detail of why each area will or will not be feasible is not relevant to this committee, the important thing to note is that there will be a distinct first-mover's advantage for the states that begin a colony. As previously mentioned, a hypothetical space colony would be difficult to justify as being owned by a single nation given the Outer Space Treaty as written, delegates should consider if the current environment is healthy for the development of a truly international colony, or if it is worth considering single-nation ownership. Thus far the rules of the Outer Space Treaty have been repeatedly referred to, but not the force behind it, and what is a law without a force behind it? If a nation violates the Outer Space Treaty, they and the aggrieved party will each appoint an arbitrator to a commission, and then the nations will collectively appoint a third arbitrator. This commission will come to a conclusion that will be presented before COPUOS, and if no decision can be reached the Secretary General is invited to be presented the facts and come to his own decision. For example, in 1977 when Kosmos 954, a USSR satellite, crashed into Canada near Yellowknife a commission was formed. Canada initially demanded $6m to pay for the clean-up; the commission agreed to award Canada $4m and the USSR eventually paid $3m. This highlights one of the major issues in Space Law there was and remains no means for Canada to challenge for the

19 remaining $1m, as there is no backing to the decisions of the commission it is not appealable by the ICJ or backed by the threat of jail or an enforcement of the fine. That said, there are obvious concerns with giving a Space Law commission the right to an enforceable sentence. One final thought on Topic One: only 30 countries have astronaut programs, and only 13 have launch capability (though France extends its launch facilities to the rest of the European Space Agency), with 5 more planning to follow (a Pan-Arab League group based in the UAE, an African Union group based in South Africa, a united South American agency based in Brazil, the Philippines and Sri Lanka). The Outer Space Treaty has 103 signatories, and any language that loosens regulation and allows a sudden expansion of programs will benefit those 13 above the other 90, particularly the 73 without astronaut programs. Topic Two: Space Weaponization Subtopic One: Space to Earth Weapons Article IV of the Outer Space Treaty prohibits the placement in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, installation of such weapons on celestial bodies, or stationing of such weapons in outer space in any other manner. The concept of space weaponization was far from science fiction during the Cold War Boeing had been developing kinetic energy space-to-earth weapons since the 1950s and in 1961 Nikita Khrushchev, then leader of the Soviet Union had

20 said "You do not have 50- or 100-megaton bombs, we have bombs more powerful than 100 megatons. We placed Gagarin and Titov in space, and we can replace them with other loads that can be directed to any place on Earth." The SALT II treaty represents the only attempt to clarify the language of the article, with the USA and USSR bilaterally agreeing that weapons of mass destruction means include chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological weapons. However, the treaty expired in 1985 and no attempt has been made since to clarify the language. There are many indicators that a space arms race is imminent some suggesting that it could come as soon as COPUOS will be expected to find a reaction to this: prevention of an arms race, tempering of its technologies or allowance. Bear in mind that choosing to do nothing is still a choice. Space is asserted by certain governments to be a medium in which a state can gain and exert influence, not unlike land, air, and sea. By gathering influence in the space environment through the acquisition of space-power, a state could validate to its population and the world its technological aptitude and its ability to influence international affairs through the strategic medium of outer space. The tactical rationale behind the deployment of space weapons is clear the speed that a weapon could traverse the earth in space is phenomenal, as a threat could go from assessment to destruction in well under 150 minutes. Conversely, COPUOS must consider the effect that the allowance of arms in outer space could have on global peace. No more than 4 countries China, Russia, Switzerland and the USA

21 have the technology to be involved in space armament, and such weapons are incredibly destructive. Delegates must consider the threat that a belligerent or non-state actor gaining access to a spaceto-earth weapon might be, given metrics of destruction previously stated. Subtopic Two: Anti-Satellite Technology Anti-satellite technology actually predates the first launched satellite OKB-1 began work on the concept in 1956, the year before launching Sputnik. The first systems consisted of a missile, deployed from an airplane, launched upwards in an intercept course with a target and all three successful satellite destructions have used similar concepts. There are considerations for the proliferation of anti-satellite technologies aside from the obvious military ones. The Kessler syndrome describes a theoretical situation where too many objects are launched into space, and space debris becomes so dense that a single piece colliding with another might set off a chain reaction, cascade each collision generating space debris that increases the likelihood of further collisions. One implication is that the distribution of debris in orbit could render space exploration, and even the use of satellites, unfeasible for many generations. On the other hand, space programs are expensive, particularly inimitable assets like astronauts. A COPUOS resolution calling for the proliferation of anti-satellite technologies could slow down the development of human spaceflight, as governments take a cautious approach to exploration and research in a world where assets could be destroyed easily.

22 A Final Note Space law is complicated, and difficult to begin researching. While we have the utmost confidence that all delegates will be ready to debate by CarleMUN, if any of you have trouble figuring out any of the details of the committee, we will be here to support you. When assignments are finalized we will be ing a personalized guide regarding where to begin research to each of you, and we are happy to chat about the concepts, in person or via any description of communication. Once again, we look forward to meeting all of you, and sharing an amazing CarleMUN.