United Nations (UN) processes on PAROS should be understood as a continuum, and achieving a consensus final document is not necessarily the only indication of progress.
In the Dialogue, reflections on the timeline and evolution of discussions on PAROS began with the 2018/19 GGE on PAROS1. This GGE did not achieve a consensus final report for reasons that are still being grappled with today – for instance, verification, definitions, and preferences for a legally binding or non-legally binding approach. National prestige in the context of controlling the development and outcome of multilateral processes was referenced as well.
The OEWG on Responsible Space Behaviours2, while unable to achieve consensus, produced numerous outputs valued by participants of the Dialogue. In addition to the Concluding Joint Statement, the Chairperson’s Summary3 provides a non-exhaustive set of elements which could be considered in the context of norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours. For many delegations, this OEWG provided an educational experience on the uniquely contemporary aspects of PAROS and space security more broadly.
Following the Responsible Space Behaviours OEWG was the 2023/24 GGE on PAROS4. In a surprising success, the GGE concluded with a consensus final report. It was noted that the GGE benefitted from the preceding OEWG and that the GGE’s final report contains language which could be useful as a basis for the upcoming OEWG on PAROS – for instance on the complementarity of different approaches. The consensus outcome, while celebrated, garnered mixed reactions: as a carefully crafted stepping stone towards common understanding, tempered by how many States did not participate in the GGE, the lack of civil society representation and caveated language.
The follow up to the 2023/24 GGE was less than ideal, with proposals for two competing OEWGs which faced difficult prospects for reconciliation. Thankfully, the ultimate merger of the two OEWGs provides an inherently balanced mandate for work to continue based on this continuum.
While an agreed statement on what PAROS in all its aspects consists of has yet to be achieved, weaponization and behavioural concerns are interlinked, and it may be possible to envision a statement which includes both agreements and disagreements.
- https://disarmament.unoda.org/topics/outerspace/paros-gge/ ↩︎
- https://disarmament.unoda.org/topics/outerspace/paros-gge/ ↩︎
- https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g23/178/26/pdf/g2317826.pdf ↩︎
- https://meetings.unoda.org/gge-paros/group-of-governmental-experts-on-further-practical-measures-for-the-prevention-of-an-arms-race-in-outer-space-2023 ↩︎