UBAKK

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 with 24 members to govern the exploration and use of space for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development. Today, the Committee membership has reached 92 member states and 42 observer organizations.

The Committee was tasked with reviewing international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, studying space-related activities that could be undertaken by the United Nations, encouraging space research programmes, and studying legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space.  The Committee was instrumental in the creation of the five treaties and five principles of outer space. International cooperation in space exploration and the use of space technology applications to meet global development goals are discussed in the Committee every year. Owing to rapid advances in space technology, the space agenda is constantly evolving. The Committee therefore provides a unique platform at the global level to monitor and discuss these developments. The Committee has two subsidiary bodies: the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, and the Legal Subcommittee, both established in 1961. The Committee reports to the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly, which adopts an annual resolution on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. The Committee is serviced by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs based in Vienna, Austria. The Office supports the work of the Committee and implements a multifaceted programme that covers the scientific, technical, legal, and policy aspects of space-related activities.
Turkey has been a member of the committee since 1977, and one of the 16 states that are party to all five UN treaties relating to activities in outer space.