EVENT: Outer Space Military Operations: How to Safeguard Essential Civilian Services?

The military application of technology enabled by space systems is an integral part of modern-day military operations, including during armed conflicts. Today more than ever, outer space is becoming increasingly congested and contested. At the same time, space systems, particularly navigation, communications and remote-sensing satellites, are vital to civilian life and essential civilian services on Earth. Satellite services also contribute to every phase of humanitarian operations in emergency situations. Against this backdrop, if during an armed conflict space systems were being targeted, what impact would it have on the functioning of essential civilian services on Earth relying on these systems? What are the existing limits under international law on military space operations, and are they sufficient to mitigate risks of civilian harm arising therefrom?

This event launches a report commissioned by the ICRC and authored by Gilles Doucet and Stuart Eves, titled "Protecting Essential Civilian Services on Earth from Disruption by Military Space Operations." The report reviews the evolving and converging development of military and essential civilian space-based services, identifies the risks to the civilian population and to humanitarian operations should space systems be targeted, and offers policy options to mitigate potential civilian impact of disruptions to satellite services. To familiarize yourself with the foundational concepts and background on this topic, you are encouraged to explore our blog series on War, Law, and Outer Space, notably the insightful post by the report's authors: Reducing Civilian Cost of Military Counterspace Operations.

Hosted by the ICRC at its headquarters in Geneva, this hybrid event aims to disseminate key findings from the report, raise awareness of the human cost of satellite service disruptions on essential civilian services and on humanitarian operations, promote a common understanding on how international law constrains the military use of outer space, and explore further measures to minimize the risk of civilian harm arising from military space operations.

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Report Executive Summary: Protecting Essential Civilian Services

4781.01_002_executive_summary_protecting_essential_civilian_services_web.pdf

ICRC observations on the consultants' report

4781.02_002_icrc_observations_web.pdf