Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks in the 64th Session of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS 2021).
Pointing to the commitment of Iran to the peaceful use and exploration of space, he stressed that some principles should be considered in the space activities of countries including global and equal access to space for all countries, without discrimination and regardless of their level of scientific, technical and economic progress and rational and equal use of outer space.
Referring to the right of fair access to Earth orbit, the envoy said, "The current exploitation of near-Earth orbit, through the deployment of large satellite collections, prevents developing countries from having fair access to this orbital resource."
He also pointed to the plans of several private companies to deploy satellite networks in near-Earth orbit for global Internet access, saying, "Providing global Internet through large satellite collections of space brings both opportunities and challenges. While these satellites offer the prospect of more efficient and inclusive global Internet access, it causes major deprivation in the use and exploration of space by developing countries and their access to this orbit."
"Large-scale satellite launch programs will soon occupy all frequencies allocated by the International Telecommunication Union. The near-Earth orbit is still very crowded and there are only a few more orbit points left for newcomers, which has seriously prevented developing countries from accessing space and eventually led to the monopolization of space by several countries and private companies," the Iranian envoy noted.
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