Overview

Open-ended working group on reducing space threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours

Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 76/231, the open-ended working group on reducing space threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours convened its organizational session on 7 and 9 February 2022 at the Palais des Nations, United Nations Office at Geneva. The first session was held from 9 to 13 May 2022. The second session was held from 12 to 16 September 2022. The third session was held from 30 January to 3 February 2023. The fourth session will be held from 28 August to 1 September 2023.

Prior to establishing the open-ended working group, the General Assembly, in its resolution 75/36, requested the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States on the further development and implementation of norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours and on the reduction of the risks of misunderstanding and miscalculations with respect to outer space. The report of the Secretary-General and the views submitted by Member States are available on the website of the Office for Disarmament Affairs.

Officers

Mr. Hellmut Lagos

Hellmut Lagos is a career diplomatic officer from Chile. He studied Journalism and holds a degree in Security and Defence at the National Academy for Political and Strategic Studies (ANEPE) at the Ministry of Defence of Chile. 

He studied Diplomacy at the Diplomatic Academy of Chile and holds a Master’s degree in International Law and International Relations from the Ortega y Gasset Institute, Madrid. He also holds a Master's degree in International Law of Armed Conflict from the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

Mr. Lagos joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile in 1995 and has served as Protocol Officer (1997-1998), Third Secretary at the Embassy of Chile in Jamaica and Alternate Representative to the International Seabed Authority in Kingston (1999-2000), Consul in Rome and Alternate Representative to the International Organizations in Rome (2001-2004), Alternate Representative to the IAEA and other International Organizations in Vienna, including UNOOSA (2005-2008), Programme Director at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat in Singapore (2009-2010) and Deputy Head for International Security in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Santiago (2011-2013). He has been Sous-Sherpa of the Nuclear Security Summit process. 

In 2012 he was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to the Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence Building Measures in Outer Space Activities. 

He has been delegate to a large number of international meetings and multilateral fora, including the United Nations First Committee, the IAEA Board of Governors, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty PrepCom, the International Conference on Cluster Munitions, the 2010 Review Conference PrepCom, the Oslo, Nayarit and Vienna Conferences on  the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, among others. 

Mr. Lagos was the head of delegation of Chile in the process of consultations of the International Code of Contact for Space Activities. He is actively involved in academic activities, and is a regular participant in the Wilton Park Conferences in the United Kingdom. 

He has participated in a wide range of discussions on international security, non-proliferation and disarmament. In 2013 he won the first prize in the essay contest of the Latin American Human Security Network on nuclear disarmament. 

Mr. Lagos has been Deputy Head of Mission at the Permanent Mission of Chile to the IAEA and other International Organizations in Vienna from 2013 and 2016.

In 2016 he was elected as the Chairman of the UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee for the period 2016-2018. 

He has been head of the Disarmament and International Security Unit at the Permanent Mission of Chile in Geneva. 

In 2018 he joined the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS).

He is currently Consul of Chile in La Paz, Bolivia.

Information for Participants

Member States

The fourth session of the Open-ended working group on reducing space threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours is scheduled to take place from 28 August to 1 September 2023 in Room XVIII, E Building at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.

Registration for the fourth substantive session is now available through Indico.

The indicative timetable of the fourth session will be issued in due course.

An aide-memoire for the fourth session, containing logistical and organizational information, has also been published.

International organizations, United Nations, commercial actors and civil society

Intergovernmental organizations and other entities having received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the work of the General Assembly, as well as organizations and bodies of the United Nations should sent an official letter to oewg-spacethreats@un.org informing of their participation and listing the full names and titles of the members of the delegation.

Other international organizations, commercial actors and civil society will be able to attend the public plenary meetings of the group as observers. An official request should be addressed to oewg-spacethreats@un.org requesting participation, indicating an ECOSOC consultative status, if any, and listing the full names and titles of the representatives who will attend. A mission statement or summary of work of the organization is also to be provided. Pursuant to the established practice, the Chair will subsequently provide the OEWG with a list of observers and the entities with consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for information and a list of all other relevant organizations and commercial actors for consideration on a no-objection basis at the beginning of the session. Such entities may provide written contributions on matters under consideration by the group, which will be made available at no cost to the Organization.

Statements from the First Session

General exchange of views (informal mode)

Multimedia

Photos

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