BRICS Leaders Call for Peaceful Space Use and Arms Race Prevention

The BRICS New Delhi Declaration reaffirmed the grouping’s commitment to the peaceful exploration and use of outer space and called for ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities and preventing an arms race in outer space (PAROS) and its weaponisation. The declaration was adopted by BRICS leaders on Saturday at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, being held from September 12 to 13 under the theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”. The BRICS leaders appreciated the achievements of the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation (RSSC) in harnessing space technology to address global challenges and promote socio-economic development. They recognised the importance of international cooperation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the peaceful use of space systems, and reiterated their commitment to reducing existing asymmetries in space capabilities among BRICS countries. The leaders welcomed discussions at the BRICS Heads of Space Agencies meeting held in Bengaluru, which emphasised the importance of space debris mitigation for ensuring the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. They also appreciated progress in finalising the amendment to the BRICS RSSC Agreement to provide for the inclusion of new BRICS Space Agencies, as well as in drafting the Terms of Reference for the BRICS Space Council. The leaders recognised the need to ensure that space systems and achievements in space science and technology are used for peaceful purposes. They also reasserted their support for ensuring the long-term sustainability of outer space activities and preventing an arms race in outer space (PAROS) and its weaponisation, as well as threats or use of force against outer space objects. The declaration called for negotiations towards adopting a relevant legal multilateral instrument to ensure global security. The leaders recognised the submission of the updated Draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects (PPWT) to the Conference on Disarmament in 2014 as an important step towards this objective. They stressed that practical and non-binding commitments, including Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures (TCBMs), as well as universally agreed norms, rules and principles, could also contribute to preventing an arms race in outer space. The leaders also noted the initiative of some BRICS members at the UN General Assembly to establish a single Open-Ended Working Group to facilitate coherent, inclusive and effective discussions on the issue. They undertook to engage constructively in the process, building on existing achievements, including substantial elements of a legally binding instrument on PAROS. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the BRICS spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, collaboration and consensus.