United Nations General Assembly: 78th Plenary Meeting on the use of the veto – non-proliferation

Joint statement and national statement.

Statement delivered by Permanent Representative, H.E. Ms. Carolyn Schwalger

Mr President,

I am speaking on behalf of a group of States committed to the implementation of General Assembly Resolution 76/262, otherwise known as the Veto Initiative: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Moldova, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Sweden, Timor-Leste, Ukraine and my own country New Zealand.

We regret that the veto cast by the Russian Federation on the first ever Security Council resolution on outer space overrode a text which was supported by 65 cosponsors and received 13 votes in favour.

We welcome this opportunity for transparency and accountability on the casting of the veto through the implementation of the Veto Initiative. The veto is the most undemocratic element of the UN and it is arguably the single greatest source of criticism of the UN by the communities we serve. The casting of the veto by a single member, or small number of members, stymies the majority of the Council from carrying out its functions on behalf of the wider UN membership.

We are steadfast in our belief that the General Assembly has a legitimate interest in, and political responsibility to address situations where the use of the veto has prevented the Security Council from acting.

A peaceful, sustainable, safe and secure space environment is essential. We all rely on space-enabled capabilities which provide a wide, and growing, range of critical capabilities, enable exciting research, and help us find answers to many of our most confronting shared challenges. We also look to space to assist us in responding to crises and emergencies, such as extreme weather events and other natural disasters around the world.

Central to this is support for measures to prevent an arms race in outer space and efforts to reduce the risk of conflict in space.

Importantly, the draft resolution urged all Member States to carry out space activities in full compliance with international law, actively contribute to the objective of the peaceful use of outer space and of the prevention of an arms race in outer space, and affirmed the obligations of all States Parties to fully comply with the Outer Space Treaty, including not to place in orbit any nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction.

The draft resolution went beyond current commitments and also called on Member States not to develop nuclear weapons or any other kinds of WMDs specifically designed to be placed in orbit. This call would have contributed to the prevention of an arms race in outer space.

The resolution would have complemented other ongoing discussions towards measures to prevent an arms race in outer space in disarmament fora.

The use of the veto presents a missed opportunity for the Security Council, on behalf of the UN membership, to exercise its leadership and responsibility and reaffirm key obligations and principles under the Outer Space Treaty, international law and the UN Charter.

As members of the General Assembly, we will continue to exercise our collective political responsibility under the UN Charter to address matters of international peace and security.

We call on the Council to act in accordance with its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. We encourage the Assembly to be ready to fill the gap left by the use of the veto by considering taking further actions where the Security Council has been prevented from acting by the veto.

Thank you.

I now wish to make some remarks in my national capacity.

We meet again today to discuss the use of the veto.

New Zealand is a long-standing opponent of the use of the veto. We have actively supported the Veto Initiative from its inception and remain a strong proponent of Resolution 76/262.

This resolution created a mechanism to ensure accountability between UN organs, in accordance with the Charter, and to ask permanent members of the Security Council that have cast a veto to explain themselves to the wider UN membership.

New Zealand was pleased to cosponsor the first ever Security Council resolution on outer space, alongside 64 other member states.

We emphasise that any breach of the Outer Space Treaty - including Article IV, which prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons in orbit - would raise serious concerns. We call on all states to abide by their international commitments and to refrain from placing nuclear weapons into orbit, or from developing the capability to do so.
As host to the fourth most frequent orbital space launches in the world, New Zealand takes its role as a gateway to space seriously and is committed to promoting the peaceful, safe, and sustainable use of space.

The peaceful use of space is fundamentally linked with respect for international law on Earth. At its core, this draft resolution called for States not to develop nuclear weapons, or other weapons of mass destruction, specifically designed to be placed into orbit.

The resolution emphasised the need for all Member States to carry out space activities in full compliance with existing international law, including the Outer Space Treaty, and it underlined the grave consequences of a nuclear detonation in space.

The resolution further highlighted the importance of preventing an arms race in outer space, and of advancing space science and technology. Any conflict in space could put into jeopardy the systems we rely on for so many purposes. Importantly, the draft resolution also complemented discussions taking place in other multilateral fora.

It is for these reasons that we regret Russia's exercise of the veto on this resolution.

This resolution was subject to extensive negotiations, and in our view, the veto presents a missed opportunity for the Security Council to support measures to prevent an arms race in outer space.

We call on the Council to fulfil its primary responsibility to maintain peace and security, and to reaffirm key obligations and principles under the Outer Space Treaty, international law and the UN Charter.

Thank you.

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