MLG/gmr A/C.l/40/PV.3 27 (Mr. Garcia Robles, Mexico) the 29 participants in the symposium, including a number of former Heads of State or Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs, as well as a number of Nobel Peace Laureates, can be described, in my view, as the most complete and substantive statement among others of comparable conciseness, issued to date on this issue. Those paragraphs read as follows: "Outer space is 1 the common heritage of mankind 1• It is in the common interest that the exploration and use of outer space should be solely for peaceful purposes, that the arms race should not be extended to that environment and that it should not become a battleground of the future. Strategic defence initiatives relating to ballistic missile defence systems now under research and development and anti-satellite systems raise the serious possibility of the militarization of outer space and of a dangerous escalation of the nuclear-arms race. They also threaten the viability of various existing arms limitation agreements. They introduce an altogether new element which is dangerous and destabilizing and which might actually provoke the use of nuclear weapons by either side. Far from rendering nuclear weapons obsolete, it is more likely that they could lead to a redoubled arms race in both defensive and offensive weapons. "These developments offer no substantial defence against strategic ballistic missiles and do not limit the effectiveness of other systems, such as bomber aircraft and cruise missiles. At today1s levels of super-Power deployment -about 10,000 strategic warhead.s on each side -even a miraculous 95 per cent protection level would be insufficient to save either society from utter destruction in the event of general nuclear war. Any effort in research or testing will inevitably lead to a reciprocal effort by the other side, and 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the exploration and use of outer space, the potential militarization of space, and the impact on nuclear-arms race and arms limitation agreements. The language used is formal and diplomatic, suggesting a high-level discussion or statement from a government or international organization. The focus on the implications of military initiatives in space and their potential effects on international relations and global security suggests that the category is likely to be related to international relations or global governance.

**Category**
Science and technology, International relations