Statement by Sweden on space and security in the Conference on Disarmament, 1 June 2021 (PAROS)

Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the floor, and thanks also to the panelists for interesting presentations.

Since this is the first time, I take the floor, let me assure you of my delegation’s support and congratulate you upon your election as chair of the Conference on Disarmament.

Let me also thank you for your warm words of welcome. I arrived in Geneva last year after spending 3 years as ambassador in Nairobi. Before Kenya I have mainly focused on security policy issues, and I have spent a large part of my carrer in Brussels. I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you virtually, but I of course also look forward to the day when we can meet in person.

And now let me turn to today’s topic and the agenda item Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space.

In recent years we have seen great advances in outer space. Space services and technology are now drivers for socioeconomic development and scientific progress. They also serve as important tools to tackle many of the major global challenges such as climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

As our reliance on space-based infrastructure and services grows we need to make sure that we safeguard and protect the space environment for future generations.  Together, we must prevent outer space to become an arena for conflict and arms race.

This – the importance of space for our development on earth, our increased reliance on space technology, as well the need for multilateral efforts to promote safety, security and sustainability and to prevent an arms race in outer space – are points of departure both for the Swedish National Space Strategy that was adopted by my government three years ago, but also for our recent national submission in response to UN resolution 75/36 [on Reducing threats and risks through Norms, Rules and Principles of Responsible Behaviours], initiated by the United Kingdom.

Sweden sees a clear need for norms, rules and principles fostering responsible behaviours in space and reducing threats. We have experienced important progress in the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space with adopted guidelines to strengthen the sustainable use of space, but we also need progress on the security side, in the appropriate fora.

We believe that currently voluntary measures constitute the best way forward but we do not exclude that such steps can pave the way for future legally binding international measures.

Moreover, let me stress that any non-binding norms of responsible behaviour should be in accordance with international law and existing multilateral space principles. 

So, what are the threats and risks that we perceive in space and what kind of norms should be developed?

In the Swedish national submission to UN Resolution 75/36 we highlight three areas where we see need for multilateral norms: 

1. Norms against destructions of space objects and similar deliberate actions that create space debris or in other ways have a strong negative impact on the space environment and other space systems, including kinetic anti-satellite weapons tests.
2. Norms regarding rendezvous and proximity operations, for example norms around transparency, communication, and consent.
3. Norms regarding other, mainly non-kinetic, threats, such as cyber, against space systems that may damage vital functions of satellites, disrupt space-based services or in other ways jeopardize the safety of people and goods.

Transparency and confidence building measures are key and could also be included in discussions about norms of responsible behaviour.

Sweden has been an actor in space for more than 50 years. We have a capable space industry, cutting-edge research, and the space centre, Esrange with more than 600 successful launches of sounding rockets, in northern Sweden.

Our new recently adopted space strategy constitutes a platform for Sweden’s long-term work on space. It underscores the benefits of space for a broad range of fields such as research and implementing Agenda 2030 and stresses the need to integrate foreign policy, security, and defense perspectives into space activities. It puts space as a global common and underlines the importance of international cooperation to ensure the long-term sustainability of space activities and preventing conflict and an arms race in space.

This strategy is now being implemented. To mention some examples, the government last October inaugurated a test bed facility at the Esrange Space Center, where rocket engines and reusable space technology can be developed and tested. The government is continuing investments in Esrange with the aim of developing a capacity to launch small satellites into orbit.

In 2020, the government also started a national inquiry with the task to propose a modernized national space law. It will present its results this autumn.

And with that I conclude my statement and look forward to the continued discussion. I thank you.