the final product of the conference will cost and consume an enormous amount of time. This point must be understood lest false hopes be built up only to be destroyed. In the most general terms it should be recalled that all of the important, formal, political-legal decisions taken regarding the space environment have taken a very long time. Moreover, a number of important issues that have attracted the attention of COPUOS for many years have not been, as yet, resolved. 7.3.1 Negotiation of the 1967 Principles Treaty: Lessons So that this point will not be lost sight of, a brief historical account will be given of the steps leading to the entry into force of the 1967 Principles Treaty. This will be supplemented by additional illustrations, which, in the interest of brevity will simply identify the time when formal discussions began with an account of where such negotiations have been brought as of the present. Illustrations will be provided for treaties and for agreements involving the establishment of international organizations. It is possible to trace the genesis of the Principles Treaty back to the 12th session of the General Assembly's disarmament committee. On August 29, 1957, a proposal was made by the United Kingdom and supported by other western powers for the control of weapons in outer space. Discussions took place in October and November 1957, which led to a call for the establishment of a technical committee to work out an inspection system. Its purpose was to insure that the space environment would be used exclusively for peaceful and scientific purposes. On December 13, 1958, the General Assembly established an 18-member Ad Hoc Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. On December 12,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==