Russia plans next year to submit for consideration in the UN a question on change “of the outer space Treaty” and the introduction at the legislative level a ban on the extraction of mineral resources on asteroids and the moon for all countries. The corresponding amendment (an international agreement on compulsory implementation of the law) was developed by state Corporation “Rosatom” jointly with the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the newspaper “Izvestia”.
“As told to “Izvestia” in the Ministry of foreign Affairs, Russia will offer to make it mandatory for all countries, the requirement cannot be attributed to minerals in space. This initiative will be introduced in April 2018 in Vienna at the meeting of the legal Committee of the UN outer space”, the article reads information of the publisher.
“The implementing arrangement is based on the fundamental principles “of the Treaty on outer space”: on equal access to space, the impossibility of discrimination, nepristoinyi space resources, etc. by Agreement we offer to the world community to impose international legal mechanism for the implementation of this Treaty”, — quotes the edition of words of the second Secretary legal Department Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Olga Volyn.
The publication notes that the issue of revision of international legislation on mining outside the Land has been raised in 2015. When the United States was adopted the law “On the competitive ability in the field of commercial space launches”. This document gave the American company the right to extract, assign, possess, transport and sell the resources of various celestial bodies, including asteroids. Since the Treaty was adopted unilaterally, it has caused many objections in other countries.
A similar law “On the legalization of industrial extraction of minerals in outer space by private companies” in 2017 was adopted in Luxembourg. The law allows private companies without the same rights to the ownership of a space object, to obtain the right to possession of the minerals contained in the outer object. Preparation of documents relevant laws have also been initiated in Japan and the UAE.
According to “Roskosmos”, the national laws of the United States and Luxembourg compromise of international space law.
“If you follow the basic principles of international cooperation and mutual respect, mutual benefit, the absence of conflict, compromise and the rule of law is clear: a unilateral solution to the issue of individual States may lead to a negative situation”, — said the press service of the Russian space Corporation.
In addition, it is reported that Russia had prepared a program for the construction of a lunar base and regulating mining on the natural satellite of our planet only in the scientific purposes as well as to the viability of the colonists and arriving crews. It is, for example, about the production of ice for water and oxygen. At the same time in any commercial activity, according to the program, should impose a ban that would fully correspond to the “outer space Treaty”.
“And Baba Yaga is against”: Russia wants to ban the extraction of resources in space
Nikolai Khizhnyak