At the 60th session of the Legal Subcommittee (LSC) of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOUS), which is presently ongoing, Egypt submitted a proposal to the Committee. The proposals are for new items which the Legal Subcommittee at its sixty-first session shall consider. The proposal is titled; The proposal of the Egyptian delegation for Space culture, a new era for human civilization. 

The submission is about the report of the LSC on its 58th session, which held in Vienna. Egypt had proposed to add a new item to the agenda of the subcommittee. The item is entitled “space culture, a new era for human civilization”. Consequently, the LSC requested the Egyptian delegation to produce a written proposal for consideration. LSC made this request during the 59th session of the Subcommittee. 

In the proposal, Egypt notes the difference in the physical nature of space, as against earth, citing its “vast expanse of space, spanning billions upon billions of light-years and still expanding, containing countless stars, planets, gases, elements and matter, as well as even the potential of the presence of water reserves and other natural resources”. The proposal continues that the presence of considerable amounts of natural resources in space will help humanity. Humankind will thus become large communities with its own nature, consistent with the physical nature of outer space.

Drawing from the above premise, the North African nation concludes that “the geophysical nature of outer space, the resources present there, the dangers and threats that may face us as humans in outer space” will form and shape any resulting human civilisation outer space. To this end, the proposal asserts that “It becomes evident from all the above that our current human civilization with all its negative attributes cannot be the basis for a new human civilization in outer space”. 

The Egyptian proposal thus enjoins the formation of the foundation of a new human civilization for outer space. Christened “The second human civilization or the human space civilization”, the proposal notes that the new civilisation must consider the above-mentioned resources, potentials, possible dangers and threats that pervade the new civilisation. Furthermore, as a duty, humanity must not transfer the negative attributes that plague present human civilisations to this space civilisation.

Consequently, Egypt requests the addition of “space culture, a new era for human civilization” on the LSC agenda. Upon a favourable response, Egypt will present the suggested steps towards establishing the basis of the new human civilisation. The suggestions, including adopting a declaration towards this end, will be at the next LSC session.