Nuclear weapons are prohibited in outer space.


The modern use of chemical weapons began with World War I, when poisonous gas was used to inflict agonizing suffering and to cause significant battlefield casualties. The results were indiscriminate and caused nearly 100,000 deaths. The first large-scale use of chemical weapons occurred in Ieper, Belgium, in 1915. Since then, disarmament efforts have worked to ban such weapons from the world. In 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force. It prohibits the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. It also requires destruction of its production facilities, along with the weapons themselves. In this photo, dated on the occasion of the Centennial Commemoration of the First Large-Scale Use of Chemical Weapons at Ieper in 2015, the OPCW Member States issued the Ieper Declaration restating their commitment to combat chemical weapons. The United States of America completed the destruction of its declared chemical weapons stockpile in 2023, resulting in 100% of declared global stockpiles being destroyed.

This photo dates from 1968, when delegates, both scientists and non-scientists, from 79 nations gathered at the United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. In the midst of the Cold War, there was a growing concern in the international community that space might become yet another field for intense rivalries between the superpowers. In 1958, shortly after the launching of the first artificial satellite, the United Nations General Assembly established an ad hocCommittee on the Peaceful Uses of OuterSpace (COPUOS), which was later established as a permanent body.



IN  2023, THE  LAST  DECLARED  CHEMICAL WEAPONS STOCKPILES WERE DESTROYED


 Since then, COPUOS has been serving as a focal point for international cooperation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space. The Committee was instrumental in the creation of the five treaties and five principles of outer space. Arms control is one of the issues covered by the treaties. Various treaties, most notably the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, have prohibited the placement of nuclear weapons in outer space.


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