Expert Mission on HCoC with Vietnam

10 December 2020

Hybrid

On 10 December 2020, the FRS and representatives from the government of Vietnam discussed over ballistic missile proliferation and the role of the Hague Code of Conduct. This event took the form of a hybrid event with representatives of Vietnam gathering in Hanoi and experts from FRS, the EU, the Swiss Chair and Austria presenting virtually.

This mission was part of a series of targeted national visits.

AGENDA

PRESENTATION & SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

  • Alexandre HOUDAYER, Secretary General, FRS
  • Georgios KRITIKOS, Deputy Head of Division, Disarmament, Non-proliferation and Arms Export Control, European External Action Service, European Union

 

I/ KEYNOTE INTRODUCTION – MISSILE PROLIFERATION: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE

  • Emmanuelle MAITRE, Research Fellow, FRS

 

II/ THE HCoC: A MULTILATERAL INSTRUMENT TO CURB THE PROLIFERATION OF MISSILES

MODERATOR:

  • Emmanuelle MAITRE, Research Fellow, FRS

 

PRESENTERS:

  • Benno LAGGNER, Resident Representative to the IAEA, Permanent Representative to the CTBTO PrepCom, Permanent Mission of Switzerland, Vienna, Austria, Current Chair of the HCoC
  • Tran Chi THANH, Deputy Director General, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Vietnam
  • Elisabeth VEIT, Desk Officer, Department for Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Austria, Immediate Central Contact/Executive Secretariat HCoC
  • Alexandre HOUDAYER, Secretary General, FRS
  • Lauriane HEAU, European Projects Manager, FRS

 

 

 

KEY ISSUES:

  • Contribution of the Code to international security
  • Being a Subscribing State: commitments and benefits
  • Day-to-day implementation of the Code
  • What opportunities for Vietnam in joining the Code? What constraints?
  • Q&A and debate

 

Research Papers

Opening HCoC to cruise missiles: A proposal to overcome political hurdles

The issue of extending the scope of the Hague Code of Conduct to cruise missiles is regularly raised in academic and political discussions about the Code. Some non-subscribing States justify their refusal to join the instrument because of this exclusion, perceived as a major flaw. Indeed, cruise missiles have characteristics that can make them very effective in carrying weapons of mass destruction. It is therefore clearly of interest to consider extending the HCoC scope to these weapons.

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Other publications

Missile Control?

This issue of Disarmament Forum assesses the current situation concerning missiles and investigates future prospects for control. Existing devices, such as the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC), UN Security Council resolution 1540 and the Proliferation Security Initiative, are all attempts at ameliorating some aspects of missile-related problems, as are the various bilateral confidence-building measures already in operation.

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Other publications

The HCoC: relevance to African states

The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC), which came into effect on 25 November 2002, aims to strengthen efforts to curb ballistic missile proliferation worldwide, thereby supplementing the Missile Technology Control Regime, which restricts access to technologies needed to develop such systems. Ballistic missiles are the favoured delivery vehicles for weapons of mass destruction and therefore have a destabilising effect on regional and global security.

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