Background Brief on UNOOSA (2)

In 1968, during a session of the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), Sierra Leone proposed the establishment of a United Nations Centre of Information, to provide expert advice in the practical applications of space technology. This was followed by a similar proposal from India, for a small advisory group that could organise…

Background Brief on UNOOSA (1)

At the request of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the then Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld, established a small expert unit within the UN secretariat to offer necessary support to the adhoc Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) that was formed in 1958. With the expanding work of COPUOS and the need to service its…

Background brief on COPUOS

On 13 December 1958, the UN established an adhoc Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) to report on: (i) the activities and resources of the UN, its specialised agencies and of other international bodies relating to the peaceful uses of outer space; (ii) the area of international cooperation and programmes in the peaceful…