SWF Statement – UN COPUOS, Agenda Item 5: General Exchange of Views (June 2024)

Secure World Foundation updates COPUOS delegates on its ongoing contributions to space sustainability, policy development, and science protection, reaffirming its commitment to peaceful uses of outer space.

Key Highlights:

• Summit for Space Sustainability
  The 5th Summit was held in New York City in June 2023 with over 500 participants.
  Guy Ryder, UN Under-Secretary-General for Policy, delivered a keynote connecting space sustainability to broader global challenges.
  The 6th Summit will be held July 11–12, 2024 in Tokyo, co-hosted with the National Space Policy Secretariat of Japan and in collaboration with SPACETIDE 2024.
• COPUOS Briefing Book
  SWF reminded delegates of its COPUOS Briefing Book, available online and in print, offering practical insights into COPUOS's history, structure, and working methods.
  Translations into Russian, Spanish, and French are in progress, supported by a collaboration with Intersputnik.
• Protection of Lunar Science: CRP.14
  SWF co-sponsored Conference Room Paper 14 (Protection of Astronomy and Science on the Moon) with:
  • IAU, IAA, IISL
  • European Astronomical Society
  • SKAO
  • Open Lunar Foundation
  • For All Moonkind
    The CRP emphasizes that some pioneering science missions can occur only in specific lunar environments, which must be protected from contamination or interference, even from other peaceful uses.
• Continued Engagement
  The Foundation concludes by reaffirming its support for COPUOS’s mandate to ensure peaceful, sustainable, and cooperative use of space.