A/RES/80/44 GA

United Nations A/RES/80/44 General Assembly Distr.: General 3 December 2025 25-19836 (E) *2519836* Eightieth session Agenda item 99 (w) General and complete disarmament: transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 1 December 2025 [on the report of the First Committee (A/80/534, para. 7)] 80/44. Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 60/66 of 8 December 2005, 61/75 of 6 December 2006, 62/43 of 5 December 2007, 63/68 of 2 December 2008, 64/49 of 2 December 2009, 65/68 of 8 December 2010, 68/50 of 5 December 2013, 69/38 of 2 December 2014, 70/53 of 7 December 2015, 71/42 of 5 December 2016, 71/90 of 6 December 2016, 72/56 of 4 December 2017, 73/72 of 5 December 2018, 74/67 of 12 December 2019, 75/69 of 7 December 2020, 76/55 of 6 December 2021, 77/251 of 30 December 2022, 78/52 of 4 December 2023 and 79/51 of 2 December 2024, as well as its decision 66/517 of 2 December 2011, Recalling also the report of the Secretary-General of 15 October 1993 to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session, the annex to which contains the study by governmental experts on the application of confidence-building measures in outer space,1 Reaffirming the right of all countries to explore and use outer space in accordance with international law, Reaffirming also that preventing an arms race in outer space is in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and is an essential condition for the promotion and strengthening of international cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, Recalling, in this context, its resolutions 45/55 B of 4 December 1990 and 48/74 B of 16 December 1993, in which, inter alia, it recognized the need for increased transparency and confirmed the importance of confidence-building _______________ 1 A/48/305 and A/48/305/Corr.1. A/RES/80/44 Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities 25-19836 2/5 measures as a means of reinforcing the objective of preventing an arms race in outer space, Noting the constructive debates that the Conference on Disarmament has held on this subject and the views expressed by Member States, Noting also the discussions of the open-ended working group established pursuant to resolution 76/231 of 24 December 2021, Noting further the establishment by the General Assembly in its decision 79/512 of 2 December 2024 of an open-ended working group and the sessions held by the group, and welcoming the adoption by consensus by the group of the agenda 2 and the indicative timetable for 2025–20283 and the beginning of its substantive work, Recalling the introduction by China and the Russian Federation at the Conference on Disarmament of the draft treaty on prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space and of the threat or use of force against outer space objects, 4 and the submission of its updated version5 in 2014, Noting that, since 2004, several States6 have introduced a policy of not being the first State to place weapons in outer space, Noting also that, since 2022, several States have made national commitments not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti‑satellite missile tests, Welcoming the adoption by consensus by the Disarmament Commission of the “Recommendations to promote the practical implementation of transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities with the goal of preventing an arms race in outer space, in accordance with the recommendations set out in the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities”,7 Recognizing that the work within the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and its Legal Subcommittee, including the promotion of the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, has a fundamental role to play in enhancing transparency and confidence-building among States and in ensuring that outer space is maintained for peaceful purposes, Noting the contribution of Member States that have submitted to the Secretary- General concrete proposals on international outer space transparency and confidence- building measures pursuant to paragraph 1 of resolution 61/75, paragraph 2 of resolution 62/43, paragraph 2 of resolution 63/68 and paragraph 2 of resolution 64/49, Recalling the work done in 2012 and 2013 by the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities, which was convened by the Secretary-General, on the basis of equitable _______________ 2 A/AC.297/2025/3. 3 A/AC.297/2025/CRP.2/Rev.5. 4 See CD/1839. 5 See CD/1985. 6 Argentina, Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam and Zimbabwe. 7 Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-eighth Session, Supplement No. 42 (A/78/42), annex. Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities A/RES/80/44 3/5 25-19836 geographical distribution, to conduct a study on outer space transparency and confidence-building measures, Convinced of the necessity of further examining the transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities and their practical implementation, Recalling the consideration of the report of the Group of Governmental Experts, 8 as well as views on the modalities of making practical use of the recommendations contained therein, as set out in the report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on its fifty-eighth session, held in 2015,9 at which it found that the Committee had a fundamental role to play in enhancing transparency and confidence- building among States, as well as in ensuring that outer space is maintained for peaceful purposes, Noting that, in its report, the Group of Governmental Experts had recognized the value of the work of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in developing a set of voluntary, non‑legally binding guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, some of which could be considered as potential transparency and confidence-building measures, while others could enhance the safety of outer space activities and thereby provide the technical basis for the further implementation of additional transparency and confidence-building measures, Welcoming the adoption in 2019 by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at its sixty-second session of the preamble and 21 Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities, as contained in annex II to the report of the Committee,10 the implementation of which may have a positive effect on international peace and security, as well as the continuation of efforts both to identify and study challenges and to consider possible new guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, Recalling the special report by the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities (UN-Space) on the implementation of the report of the Group of Governmental Experts, and the recommendations contained therein, as submitted to the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at its fifty-ninth session, in 2016,11 Welcoming the revised International Telecommunication Union resolution 186 on strengthening the role of the Union with regard to transparency and confidence- building measures in outer space activities, adopted by the 2018 Plenipotentiary Conference of the Union, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 29 October to 16 November 2018, 1. Stresses the importance of the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities, considered by the General Assembly on 5 December 2013; 2. Encourages Member States to continue to review and implement, to the greatest extent practicable, the proposed transparency and confidence-building measures contained in the report, through the relevant national mechanisms, on a voluntary basis and in a manner consistent with the national interests of Member States; _______________ 8 A/68/189. 9 Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventieth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/70/20). 10 Ibid., Seventy-fourth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/74/20). 11 A/AC.105/1116. A/RES/80/44 Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities 25-19836 4/5 3. Also encourages Member States, in accordance with the recommendations contained in the report, with a view to promoting the practical implementation of transparency and confidence-building measures, to hold regular discussions in the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the Disarmament Commission and the Conference on Disarmament on the prospects for their implementation; 4. Requests the relevant entities and organizations of the United Nations system, to which, in accordance with its resolution 68/50, the report was circulated, to assist in effectively implementing the conclusions and recommendations contained therein, as appropriate; 5. Encourages the relevant entities and organizations of the United Nations system to coordinate, as appropriate, on matters related to the recommendations contained in the report; 6. Stresses the importance of the “Recommendations to promote the practical implementation of transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities with the goal of preventing an arms race in outer space, in accordance with the recommendations set out in the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities” adopted by consensus by the Disarmament Commission and endorsed by the General Assembly;12 7. Welcomes the joint ad hoc meetings of the First and Fourth Committees, held on 22 October 2015, 12 October 2017, 31 October 2019, 27 October 2022 and 30 October 2024, on possible challenges to space security and sustainability, convened in accordance with the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities and its resolutions 69/38, 71/90, 73/72, 73/91 of 7 December 2018, 76/55 and 78/52, and the substantive exchanges of opinions on various aspects of security in outer space that took place during the meetings; 8. Decides to convene a joint half-day panel discussion of the Disarmament and International Security Committee (First Committee) and the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) to address possible challenges to space security and sustainability, and to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-first session, under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”, the sub-item entitled “Joint panel discussion of the First and Fourth Committees on possible challenges to space security and sustainability”; 9. Calls upon Member States and the relevant entities and organizations of the United Nations system to support the implementation of the full range of conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities and in the “Recommendations to promote the practical implementation of transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities with the goal of preventing an arms race in outer space, in accordance with the recommendations set out in the report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities”; 10. Recalls the report of the Secretary-General on transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities in the United Nations system, which contains summaries of the submissions received from Member States giving their views on transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities,13 as well as the practical implementation of such measures contained in the _______________ 12 Resolution 78/52. 13 A/72/65 and A/72/65/Add.1. Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities A/RES/80/44 5/5 25-19836 report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence- Building Measures in Outer Space Activities of 2013;14 11. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-first session, under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”, the sub-item entitled “Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities”. 52nd plenary meeting 1 December 2025 _______________ 14 A/78/75.

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