SPACE/SG/1
19 July 1999

WORLD COMMUNITY MUST LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND AS IT MOVES TO EXPLORE,
DEVELOP OUTER SPACE, DECLARES UN SECRETARY-GENERAL

Following is the addresss by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, delivered this morning in Vienna to the opening meeting of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space:  

I am delighted to join you today.  Of all the important and challenging topics on the agenda of the United Nations, perhaps none quite captures our imagination like outer space.  You need only look up at the stars to be filled with the sense of wonder that has spurred men and women to the exploration of space.

But outer space does not only stir the soul.  It also has great practical implications for the lives of people everywhere.  It is those implications you are here to discuss.  UNISPACE III is the last major United Nations conference this century.  As such, it is a fitting symbol both of the achievements of the last hundred years and of the work of the United Nations.

We are at the end of a century that has seen unparalleled progress in science and technology.  In many ways, the pinnacle of these achievements was the birth of space technology, with which we finally realized the dream of venturing beyond our own planet.  The exploration of outer space has already revolutionized life on our planet in many ways.  It has ushered in the satellite age, making possible the phenomenon we have come to know as globalization.  Every time live television images are transmitted across continents; every time capital is moved by pressing a few keys on a computer terminal; and every time the Internet puts new stores of information at our fingertips:  we can thank the pioneering efforts of space technology, which have allowed us to conquer the barriers of distance.

Other applications of space technology are less obvious, but no less important.  For instance, observations from space have allowed us to better understand our environment, for example by imaging of the ozone layer or world climate conditions.  And space technology has led to advances in fields as diverse as the monitoring of natural disasters and the development of navigational systems.

These examples of space technology -- some immediately apparent, some much less so -- provide a powerful justification for carrying on with our basic research in space science.  Our collective knowledge may be enriched in ways which today we cannot even imagine.  

Meanwhile, we can make much more use of what we already know:

• We can ensure that educational resources and medical expertise reach the remote communities in the world.  With over one billion people remaining illiterate in the world, surely this must be one of our first priorities.
• We can gather information that will allow us to locate and suitably manage natural resources, an application especially useful in view of the growing threats to our global environment.
• We can improve our weather forecasting, and use it to minimize the effects of natural disasters.
• We can use experimentation in space to develop innovative agricultural techniques sorely needed in regions of the world where people still go hungry, even while the world supposedly has the technology to feed its people many times over.
• And we can use satellite monitoring to detect landmines, and even the cultivation of plants used to make illicit drugs.    Austrian President Klestl referred to this earlier.  Indeed, our own  United Nations International Drug Control Programme, based here in Vienna, has recently signed an important agreement with the European Space Agency for that very purpose.  

In short the potential is really great.  But there are dangers as well.  Unfortunately, the advantages of globalization are far from being equally accessible to all human beings.  For example, the telecommunications industry is estimated to be worth a trillion dollars annually, yet one third of the world's population has never made a phone call, and only five per cent has access to computers.  And as technology moves forward, the gap widens between those who are part of the wired world and those who are not.

Besides it can be very bewildering to live in a society which is suddenly opened to the outside world by new technology.  Countries and peoples need to retain their distinctive cultural practices and identities, under the onslaught of globalization.  But at the same time, we must all work to ensure that the possibilities offered by technology both in space and here on earth, are used to foster tolerance, trust and shared values.  They must not be instruments of hatred or division.

Above all, we must guard against the misuse of outer space.  We recognized early on that a legal regime was needed to prevent it becoming another arena of military confrontation.  The international community has acted jointly, through the United Nations, to ensure that outer space would be developed peacefully.  But there is much more to be done.  We must not allow this century, so plagued with war and suffering, to pass on its legacy to the next, when the technology at our disposal will be even more awesome.  We cannot view the expanse of space as another battleground for our earthly conflicts.

On the contrary, we must ensure that the fruits of technical progress are made available to all people in all nations.  This is an important aspect of global developments, and therefore of direct concern to the United Nations.

We must find ways to lower the cost of technologies associated with space science, and to provide developing countries with the resources to acquire them.  We must also persuade    policy makers to acknowledge and purse the practical benefits of space technology for development.

If these goals are to be achieved, partnerships between nations is essential.  So too is partnership with industry, commercial groups, and with non-governmental organizations.  I am delighted to see that these elements of civil society are taking part in this conference on an equal footing.

We can go even further and speak of partnership across generations.  This Conference's Space Generation Forum is an invaluable tool for including young people in discussions on outer space.  Young people, perhaps most of all, are inspired by the potential of space exploration to hope, dream, and work together.  It is the young that we must look to for the scientific breakthroughs of tomorrow.  I'm sure we have future world leaders amongst us here today.  What they will learn at this conference -- notably by exchanging information and idea in the seminar and workshops of the Conference's Technical Forum -- may be of great value to them later on, and through them to the generations yet unborn.

The limitless expanse of the cosmos does not admit of borders or national jurisdictions.  Space exploration has given us the opportunity to see the Earth for what it is in the context of the galaxies around us: a tiny sanctuary of life in the midst of the multitude of the heavens.  Confronted with the vastness of the universe, we often feel our insignificance.  What we should feel even more is the absurdity of the divisions in our small world.

Space is a resource we can all share.  We must work together to unlock and exploit its secrets.  We must ensure that no one is left behind as we move forward in the great adventure of exploring and developing outer space.  I understand this Conference is poised to agree on an Action Plan outlining realistic ways to make the benefits of space science and technology available to all.  The Vienna Declaration, which will be adopted here, must be not just a form of words but a living force which will change the lives of future generations.

Tomorrow, in the midst of your proceedings, we shall observe the thirtieth anniversary of man's first landing on the moon.  Let that memory inspire you as you begin your discussions.  Because, if I may paraphrase Neil Armstrong, the small steps you will take here in Vienna can lead to giant leaps for humankind.  I wish you all "bon courage!"