Moon Agreement (limited signatories)

E26341

The Moon Agreement is a 1979 United Nations treaty that seeks to regulate the exploration and use of the Moon and other celestial bodies as the common heritage of humankind, but has been ratified by only a small number of countries.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United Nations treaty
international treaty
space law treaty
adoptedBy United Nations General Assembly
adoptionDate 1979-12-05
aimsTo ensure that exploration and use of the Moon benefits all countries
prevent militarization of the Moon beyond permitted peaceful uses
appliesTo Moon
other celestial bodies within the solar system
articleFocus Article 11 on natural resources of the Moon
buildsOn Outer Space Treaty
category United Nations General Assembly treaties
space treaties
treaties concluded in 1979
treaties entered into force in 1984
criticizedFor perceived restrictions on commercial exploitation of lunar resources
depositary Secretary-General of the United Nations
enteredIntoForceDate 1984-07-11
excludes celestial bodies in the solar system other than the Earth from national sovereignty claims
governs activities of States on the Moon
activities of international intergovernmental organizations on the Moon
hasLimitedParticipation true
language Arabic
Chinese
English
French
Russian
Spanish
legalStatusOfMoon common heritage of mankind
notRatifiedBy China
Russian Federation
United States
major spacefaring nations
numberOfStatesParties small compared to other UN space treaties
officialName Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
openedForSignatureDate 1979-12-18
partOf corpus of international space law
placeSigned New York City
prohibits national appropriation of other celestial bodies
national appropriation of the Moon
providesFor equitable sharing of benefits from lunar resources
possible establishment of an international regime to govern exploitation of natural resources of the Moon
requires States Parties to inform the UN Secretary-General and the public of their lunar activities
international cooperation in lunar exploration
protection of the lunar environment
use of the Moon for peaceful purposes only
shortName Moon Treaty
subjectMatter regulation of activities on other celestial bodies
regulation of activities on the Moon
UNResolutionNumber United Nations General Assembly resolution 34/68

Referenced by (5)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs ("Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies")
administers
Moon
governingTreaty
Moon Agreement ("Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies")
officialName
Outer Space Treaty ("Moon Agreement")
relatedTo
Moon Agreement ("Moon Treaty")
shortName

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