DECLARATION OF BUENOS AIRES ON SPACE LAW COOPERATION (English Version)

1. We commend the Buenos Aires Meeting on "Science, Technology and Society" organised by the Argentine and Brazilian Association for the Progress of Science (AAPC and SBPC) which took place on 1-4 November 2004, bringing together noteworthy members of the scientific communities of the two countries with the objective of reaching a new and wider level of cooperation in the most important areas of knowledge.

2. We are aware that a joint development of space activities, including far-reaching binational programmes for scientific and technological research, should constitute a necessary part of the strategic effort of our countries leading to economic growth and improvement of life conditions in both. Research scientists from Argentina and Brazil have a long way ahead for joint work in the various fields of space science and technology. Far-reaching projects of mutual benefit may be implemented in the crucial areas of earth observation from space (remote sensing) and meteorology with positive effects in all the Latin American region. Integration in the field of space activities should be one of our first future priorities.

3. In this context it is both imperative and urgent to strengthen cooperation in the field of Space Law between our countries, following an interdisciplinary approach. In the complex arena of international political decision-making, which surrounds space activities, this specific branch of International Law provides the "rules of the game", adopted by common agreement and within the framework of which all countries should act in the modern world so as to achieve the most favourable conditions for the development of space programmes.

4. We are inspired in the humanistic legacy of the pioneers of Space Law in our countries -Aldo Armando Cocca in Argentina and Haroldo Vallãdao in Brazil - who devised a legal structure for space activities from the early days of Space Law in the fifties, and an effective way to ensure the welfare, the rights and essential interests of all countries, all peoples, all mankind.

5. It is necessary to encourage as much as possible the teaching, understanding and research in Space Law, in a wide sense, at our Universities and Research Centres, both on the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The objective is to build up a solid critical group which today is essential to face the complex struggle for the enforcement of our inalienable rights, as well as the principles and international rules which open outer space to the legitimate activities of all countries for the benefit of mankind and without discrimination.

6. In this sense we should encourage joint research on topics of our common interest, in addition to organising special courses on Space Policy and Law in Argentina, Brazil and other Latin American countries. To this end it would be advisable to study the possibility of having a first Argentine-Brazilian meeting on Space Law, including the largest possiible number of human resources and institutions in the area, with the view to establishing a wide action programme to be carried out in the forthcoming years.

7. An appropriate Argentine-Brazilian Programme of Cooperation in Space Law would be able to provide valuable services to the international governmental agencies of both countries, as well as to the areas of Education and Culture, and to the study and development of the issues on the agenda of the main international space fora. It could likewise encourage the study of the legal aspects of space activities, taking into account the most recent advances in all other sciences.

8. As a conditio sine qua non, this programme implies an immediate commitment towards the development of our countries in this challenging XXI century.

Buenos Aires, 1 November 2004

Sylvia-Maureen Williams, Head of Space Law Research Projects, National Council for Scientific Research (Conicet). Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Argentina.

José Monserrat Filho, Vice President of the Brazilian Association of Air and Space Law (SBDA).