research and development activities”; 
International Archives of Photogrammetiy and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXII Part 7C2, UNISPACE III, Vienna, 1999 
131 
Paragraph 321 
(g) Add a new section after paragraph 321 to read: 
“(c) Specific action programmes 
“Open access to space is essential to the widest possible utilization of all 
applications that bring benefits to humankind, including sustainable 
development. Full participation in the information society of the twenty-first 
century requires that all nations have open access to environmental information 
gathered by Earth observation platforms. The principle of non-discriminatory 
access to Earth observation data contained in the Principles Relating to Remote 
Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space (General Assembly resolution 41/65, 
annex), in particular principle XII, should continue to be safeguarded and 
should be enhanced by a clearer definition of its meaning. The United Nations 
and its Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space should work with 
experts in international space law and space policy to define more precisely the 
issues of practical implementation behind the term ‘non-discriminatoty access’. 
That work should include an assessment of how developing countries can pul 
the principle of non-discriminatory access into practice and thereby gain 
maximum benefits from space-based Earth observation”.