This side event to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly First Committee will examine how multilateral discussions on outer space are divided and how coordination between them could be improved. With a joint session of the First and Fourth Committees on outer space scheduled during this year’s General Assembly, the event will take stock of where the current division works well, where it leaves genuine gaps and what a more constructive division of labour could look like in practice.
Multilateral discussions on outer space currently follow two separate tracks. Space safety is addressed by the Fourth Committee and the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in Vienna. Space security is addressed by the First Committee, the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and the Open-ended Working Group on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space in all its aspects. This division has distinct historical roots and continues to serve procedural purposes, including preserving COPUOS as a forum for cooperation rather than contestation.
In practice, however, several issues do not fit neatly within this divide. Space debris, orbital congestion, space situational awareness and the growing interest in lunar activity, among other topics, require technical cooperation to manage safely, even as they are increasingly shaped by strategic competition and security concerns among States. Left unaddressed, such issues risk being handled in duplicate without coordination or being redirected between forums in ways that delay substantive engagement.
Agenda
12:45–13:15 | Light lunch
13:15–14:30 | Moderated discussion
Speakers
- Kazuto Suzuki, Professor of Science and Technology Policy, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo
- Natália Archinard, Senior Advisor Outer Space, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
- Samuel Jardine, Senior Policy Lead, Open Lunar Foundation
- David Pusztai, Policy Officer, European External Action Service
Moderator
- Sarah Erickson, Researcher, Space Security Programme, UNIDIR
When and where
Monday, 26 October 2026 | 13:15–14:30 EDT | In person (Conference Room 9, United Nations Headquarters, New York) and online
RSVP
To attend in person or online, please complete the registration form.
Further information
For further information or questions, please contact Sarah Erickson at sarah.erickson@un.org.
