IASL together with UNOOSA
Montreal, May 05, 2017
The 2017 Manfred Lachs Conference (MLC17) will be hosted by McGill University’s Institute of Air and Space Law (IASL) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from 5-6 May 2017 in order to address: What are the governance mechanisms related to global outer space activities that ought to be adopted to facilitate achieving the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals?
The MLC17 will be organized together with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) as one of the key Workshops/Conferences in preparation of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) fiftieth anniversary of the first UNISPACE Conference (UNISPACE+50) (UN Doc A/AC.105/L.297). MLC17 will address UNISPACE+50 Thematic Priority II, the “legal regime of outer space and global space governance: future and current perspectives”. The key ideas from this Conference will be presented at the Fall 2017 High-Level Forum in preparation for UNISPACE+50 with an aim to providing viable input to UNISPACE+50 in 2018.
Building upon past Manfred Lachs Conferences, the general theme of the MLC17 will align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda consist of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet, ensure prosperity for all and promote global peace and “argues for stronger space governance and… calls for strengthened space cooperation and coordination mechanisms at the international, regional, interregional and national levels.” (UN document A/AC.105/1115) Global governance of outer space activities refers primarily to the framework for governing international cooperation in the use of outer space for peaceful purposes and for the benefit and in the interests of all countries.
