Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Deputy State Secretary for European Union and International Affairs of the Ministry of National Development Kovács Tamás Iván addressed the participants on the first day of the 54th memorial session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, organised in Vienna on 1 June 2011 .

The memorial session was organised on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Human Spaceflight, Yuri Gagarin’s voyage and the first session of COPUOS, United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. In his speech Tamás Iván Kovács pointed out: the past decade saw considerable changes in the efforts to conquer space, as new technologies and cooperation appeared in space policy no one could foresee.

It was high on the agenda to adopt an international code of conduct and set out the rules related to the activities related to space with consideration to security and sustainability, Tamás Iván Kovács added. He went on to stress that the professional work performed by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was a major leap forward, as it was focussed on the legislative, economic and political framework serving the long-term sustainability of activity in space.

During the memorial meeting the UN adopted a declaration of the achievements of the first fifty years of human spaceflight, and the international objectives for the future. In the declaration the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space emphasises the need to undertake a more thorough review of contribution of advanced space research and space technological systems to the management of global climate change, food safety and global health care. It is similarly worth evaluating the potential utilisation of the scientific achievements of human spaceflights and their by-products to the benefit of humankind, with special regard to the populations of developing countries.

The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is a body engaged in furthering international cooperation within the peaceful use of space. As several special UN organisations interested in the application of space activities and other international organisations participate in COPUOS’ work, based on the number of its members, it is one of the largest UN committees. Hungary has been a member of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space since 1959.

(Ministry of National Development , Department of Communication)