[SEMINAR REPORT]
On 24 December 2021, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Res. 76/231, creating an Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Reducing Space Threats through Norms, Rules and Principles of Responsible Behaviors from 2022.
Our guest speaker, Almudena Azcárate Ortega, is an Associate Researcher in the Space Security and WMD Programmes at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). As focal person of UNIDIR’s participation in the OEWG, she delivered a fascinating lecture on space security at the United Nations. While providing a comprehensive overview of the United Nations’ approach to dealing with questions of space security, and arms controls and disarmament in outer space since the 1950s and of the positions of major space powers, Ms. Azcárate Ortega addressed numerous key concepts such as space security and safety, dual-use and dual-purpose assets, the idea of regulating capacity vs. behaviors, etc.
Following the lecture, Ms. Azcárate Ortega engaged in a long discussion with the audience, covering issues such as the evolution of the concept of space security at the United Nations, possible outcomes of the OEWG in the context of heightened tensions between the United States and Russia/China, etc.
[GENERAL INFORMATION]
Title
Reducing space threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours
Guest Speaker
Almudena Azcárate Ortega, Associate Researcher, Space Security and WMD Programmes, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
Moderator
Quentin Verspieren, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo
Date/time
13 December 2022, 12:00 – 13:30
Venue
Online, registration required
Language
English (no Japanese interpretation available)
Host
Science, Technology and Innovation Governance (STIG) Program
Organized in conjunction with the Governance of Space Activities and Space Development and Public Policy courses
Registration
https://forms.gle/NHrKxgakToVNXaVG8
About the Speaker
Almudena Azcárate Ortega is an Associate Researcher in the Space Security and WMD Programmes at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). Her research focuses on space security and missiles, and she is currently leading UNIDIR’s participation in the Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats created under UNGA Resolution 76/231. Prior to joining UNIDIR, Almudena was a Research Assistant at Georgetown University Law Center, where she is currently an S.J.D. (Ph.D equivalent) candidate. She also holds an LL.M. in National Security Law from the same institution, where she was the recipient of Georgetown’s Thomas Bradbury Chetwood, S.J. Prize for the most distinguished academic performance in the programme. Almudena received her LL.B. from the University of Navarra. She is admitted to practice law in Spain, and prior to her studies at Georgetown, she was a practicing attorney at Spanish law firm Uría Menéndez, where she specialized in international arbitration and litigation.She speaks English, Spanish, French and German.
Contact:
Science, Technology, and Innovation Governance (STIG) Program
Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo
STIG@pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp