Honorable Chair and Distinguished Delegates, this is the delegate of France.

The
delegate would speak about PAROS which means prevention of an Arms Race in Outer
Space with special emphasis to No first placement of weapons in outer space. The
delegate would first of all like to give a brief profile of the country which is located in
Western Europe. The official name of France is French Republic. It became French
republic after the French Revolution in 1792. Its area is 643 thousand 801 km square.
Neighboring countries are Luxembourg, Monacco, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland,
Andorra and Spain. European Union is the ally of France. Official language of France is
French. Major cities of France are Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice, Nantes,

Strasbourg. Euro is the currency of France.

In 2017, the GDP of France was 2.58 lac crores USD and the population was 6.71 crores.
France is one of the founding member of the United Nations and it is also a permanent
member of United Nation Security Council. France is the 7th largest economy in the
world. It has a diversified economy. The chemical industries is the key factor for France
helping to develop other manufacturing activities and contributing to economic growth.
France’s tourism industry is a major component of the economy as France is the most
visited destination in the world. Sophia Antipolis is the major technology hub for
economy of France. Paris the Capital of country is ranked as the most elegant city in the

world.

TOPIC BACKGROUND
Now we come back to the topic” What was the need of PAROS”

As we all know that Space is a driver for economic growth and innovations for benefit of
all people. Space activities and technologies contribute to tackling global challenges such
as climate change, disaster management, food security, transport development and the
protection of environment and of scarce resources. Space science and technology also

plays an important role in achieving the sustainable development goals.

In 1959, the UN general assembly established a committee on the Peaceful uses of Outer
space (COPUOS). This committee identified areas for international cooperation in the
peaceful uses of outer space, devised program to be undertaken by the United Nations,
encouraging research on matters relating to outer space and studied legal problem

arising from the exploration of outer space.

During 1960s and 1970s a number of agreements were adopted to prevent the
weaponization of outer space. These include Partial Test Ban Treaty, Outer space treaty,
the rescue agreement, launch registration convention and Moon agreement. Although
these treaties ban the placement of weapons of mass destruction in space, they do not

prevent states from placing other types of weapons in space.

Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space is an UN resolution that reaffirms the

fundamental principals of 1967 Outer Space Treaty and advocates for a Ban on the
weaponization of space. The PAROS resolution acknowledges the limitations of existing
laws related to outer space and recognizes that the outerspace treaty “by itself does not
guarantee the prevention of an Arms Race in Outer space”. The resolution advocates for
further measures to prevent an Arms Race in Outer space by, among other things, urging
all state parties particularly those with space capabilities to adhere to the objective of

PAROS.
PAROS was passed on 1st Nov. 1999 by a vote of 138 in favor and 0 against (with 2
abstentions, US and Israel). The prevention of an Arms race in outer space initiative is a
response to the fact that there is no multilateral agreement banning the deployment of
weapons other than weapons of mass destruction in outer space. Confidence Building

and transparency measures would be the first step in this field.

On 2nd Dec. 2014 United Nation General Assembly adopted with vote of 126 in favor. 4
against and 46 abstentions, resolution 69/32 entitled “NO FIRST PLACEMENT OF
WEAPONS IN SPACE” despite the limited attention received in academic circles, the
adoption of resolution 69/32, represent an important development in the area of space

security.

First, it indicates the growing recognition of the positive role that transparency and
confidence building measures play in preventing an Arms race in space even from the
perspective of those states that has suggested the adoption of treaty on PAROS namely

China and Russia.

Second, it shows the willingness of a crescent number of members of United Nations.

General assembly to engage in initiatives aimed at promoting a more secure space

environment.

Third, its controversial reception proves that a universal solution to the issue of space

security still lays far ahead.

In the light of these elements, the purpose of the present view point is to analyze
resolution 69/32, evaluate its negative and positive features, and assess its chances to
provide a meaningful contribution to a more secure outerspace. The resolution reaffirm
that the will of all states that the exploration and use of outerspace, including the moon
and other celestial bodies shall be for peaceful purposes and shall be carried out for the
benefit and in the interest of all countries.
Since the early days of the space race the international community has referred to the
use of “space for peaceful purposes,” and to the need to maintain a “space sanctuary”;
meanwhile military use of space has continued to expand. But a distinction must be

made between “militarization” and “weaponization” of space.

Although space is heavily militarized, it is not yet weaponized. Space “weaponization” is

generally understood to refer to the placement in orbit of space-based devices that have
a destructive capacity. Therefore, while satellites may be used for aggressive measures,
such as GPS navigation of fighter jets or precision guided missile delivery, satellites
themselves have no destructive capacity and their support of military operations would

not be considered weaponization.

Defensive in its first decades, the use of space for military purposes has now become
offensive. The concept of militarized outer space has been replaced by that of
“weaponized” outer space. The international law in space only strictly prohibits putting
weapons of mass destruction into orbit. The threat of conventional arms development,
mainly targeting the destruction of operational military satellites, is one which may not
be prevented simply by diplomatic activity, an approach to which France has been

wholeheartedly committed.

In the European Union, the countries have developed strong and unique space capacities
and industry allowing them to take part in major space endeavours. The EU, its member
states and the European space agency (ESA) together have second largest budget for

space in the world.

As regards to France, it is the home to prestigious space projects such as Ariane 6,

Copernicus and Galileo and for our country to remain at the forefront of this sector, the
Minister of State for Higher Education and Research has just set out aims of our space

policy.

France is one of the World’s Space superpowers, alongside the US and Russia. If France is
to remain a leading light, the Government believes that our space policy must work

towards following :

1. An industrial policy which guarantee independent access to space with Ariane 6,

and enables France to maintain its technological leads in satellite field specially for
telecommunication and space observation.
2. An industry for citizens particularly with earth observation forming part of the
European Copernicus programme or with the satellite navigation system Galileo.
3. Development of the range of digital sensors available regarding space data, as
recommended in Genevieve Fioraso’s report entitled “Open Space”
4. Continuity of French scientific excellence following on from the success of Philae

or the mission of French ESA astronaut Thomas Pasquat.

As a preliminary remark, France has always attributed a serious interest to the long term
sustainability and has played an active role in the Working Group on the Long-term
Sustainability of Outer Space Activities (LTS).

The necessity of strengthening the long-term sustainability, safety and security in space is
shared by nations. It is in the collective interest of all peaceful space-faring or space-
using nations to encourage the responsible use of space and minimize orbital debris, to
protect any in-orbit manoeuvring spacecraft from risks of collision and to preserve the

space environment
The EU and its Member States are highly committed to the issue of the prevention of an
arms race in outer space (PAROS). Preventing an arms race in outer space and
preventing outer space from becoming an area of conflict is essential to safeguard the
long-term use of the space environment for peaceful purposes.

In this context, we stress the importance of Transparency and Confidence Building

Measures, providing an important contribution to the security, safety and sustainability of
activities in outer space, and the importance of promoting principles of responsible
behaviour in outer space in the framework of the UN and other appropriate multilateral
fora.

CONCLUSION
At last the delegate of France would like to coclude that the weaponization of outer
space by one player could prompt others to do the same therefore, Space activities
should be developed in compliance with the Charter of the United Nations and
international law. Furthermore, the principle of responsible use of space should be
promoted and the international community’s action should be part of an overall
framework for the prevention of an arms race. France has supported and will always
support the adoption of transparency and confidence-building measures and the

European Union’s Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities.