international agreements. Reports are received by COPUOS from the ITU, other specialized agencies, and from a variety of non-governmental organizations, such as the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). It also receives statements from the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and works with the UN Secretariat. When COPUOS agrees on a draft treaty the matter is referred to the First Committee of the General Assembly. If the First Committee supports the draft it is submitted to the General Assembly for its approval. Obtaining the latter's approval the agreement is submitted to member States for their approval. Thus, for such an agreement to enter into force it has been necessary for a very considerable consultation to have been effected between decision makers having both legal-political perspectives and also scientific and technological outlooks. However, in contrast with the ITU, it is clear that there is a heavier weighting of legal-political outlooks at the UN. Because legal-political considerations must always press heavily on scientific and technological facts and interests, it is possible that the larger involvement at this time by the ITU in the matter of the orbital patterns of geostationary space objects will not preclude the UN from claiming a dominant involvement. It is doubtful that the ITU has preempted the subject of orbital slots. Of necessity both of these international organizations will have to consult and cooperate with each other in arriving at international agreements on this subject. The utilization of the geostationary orbit will depend on the characteristics of this world natural resource. Since 1973 the position of the ITU has consistently been that the resource is a 1imited resource.
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