The World Assembly finds as follows:
- Unilateral use of nuclear weapons against an asteroid threat poses unacceptable escalation risks because such use could be mistakenly interpreted as an attack by one nation on another. Moreover, such use should be discouraged except in cases where the chances of success are favourable to avoid interference and false hopes.
- It can be difficult for an individual member nation to coordinate an effective response to the impact of a small asteroid when it lacks the requisite materiel. While larger nations could intervene to prevent disaster, an international framework would increase the likelihood of successful action and support successful cooperation.
- Home defence is one of the highest duties of government. To the question of what the Assembly wants to protect, one answer must be the lives and livelihoods of its citizens and inhabitants. Enacting a collaborative treaty on asteroid defence would solve both coordination and escalation risk problems.
- In this resolution,
- A material probability of impact is a probability that indicates an unacceptable risk no less than one per cent that a celestial body will cause, through impact of that body with another, large-scale loss of life or property in any place under WA jurisdiction.
- An asteroid defence strike is the use of nuclear weapons to destroy, disrupt, or divert a celestial body.
- A material probability of impact is a probability that indicates an unacceptable risk no less than one per cent that a celestial body will cause, through impact of that body with another, large-scale loss of life or property in any place under WA jurisdiction.
- The Asteroid Defence Treaty Association, hereinafter referred to as the Association, is hereby established with the following mandate:
- The Association will establish a comprehensive monitoring network for space around member nations to detect any object with a material probability of impact. It shall also develop technologies necessary for the successful execution of asteroid defence strikes; it shall conduct exercises and requisition materials for such strikes.
- Upon confirming discovery or reports of an object with a material probability of impact, the Association shall consult with the member nations affected on an appropriate course of action which minimises loss of life and property.
- If an asteroid defence strike, on the balance of probabilities, would eliminate a material probability of impact or otherwise minimise the loss of life or property from such a probability, the Association may order and execute one. When it does so, it shall issue a public announcement of its intention and clearly state the time, location, and flight path of that strike.
- The Association will establish a comprehensive monitoring network for space around member nations to detect any object with a material probability of impact. It shall also develop technologies necessary for the successful execution of asteroid defence strikes; it shall conduct exercises and requisition materials for such strikes.
- Member nations must assist the Association in the following goals.
- Member nations with nuclear weapons must disclose an inventory of nuclear warheads to the Association. If the Association orders an asteroid defence strike, the Association shall assume possession of the appropriate warheads from the collective inventories of member nations for use in that strike.
- Each member nation shall make a best effort to calculate the orbital parameters of any unknown and visible celestial object. If that object's orbital parameters indicate that it has a material probability of impact, it must be reported to the Association.
- Upon request, member nations must provide the Association with appropriate launch vehicles for readiness exercise for and execution of asteroid defence strikes. No member nation or person therein may interfere in the exercise or execution of any act or process planned by the Association according to 2(b) above.
- Member nations with nuclear weapons must disclose an inventory of nuclear warheads to the Association. If the Association orders an asteroid defence strike, the Association shall assume possession of the appropriate warheads from the collective inventories of member nations for use in that strike.
- The value of any materials requisitioned in the course of Association defence activities will be credited against any applicable fees or dues that a member nation owes or may owe to the World Assembly. If the value of such materials is disputed, the Impartial Mediation Foundation may intervene and issue a binding determination of value.