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	U.N., Without U.S., Passes Resolution Against Space Weapons By Kenneth Silber Staff Writer posted: 01:16 pm ET 03 November 1999

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The United States abstained on Monday from a United Nations resolution calling on member states to prevent an arms race in outer space. The resolution was passed by the U.N. General Assembly by a vote of 138 to 0.

Similar resolutions, and similar abstentions by the U.S., have occurred throughout the past decade.

According to a U.N. press release, the U.S. delegation stated that there is no arms race in space, and that military uses of space, such as treaty monitoring, had enhanced international security.

The resolution, which is not legally binding, called upon governments to "contribute actively to the prevention of an arms race in outer space, and to refrain from actions contrary to that objective," according to the U.N. press release.

U.N. spokespeople contacted by space.com declined to comment on the vote. Press officers for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations could not be immediately reached for comment.

Nations voting in favor of the resolution included Russia, China, France, India and Japan, all of which conduct significant space activities. Israel joined the U.S. in abstaining from the vote. Several dozen nations, none of them highly active in space, were absent for the vote.