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Supporting the Hague Code of Conduct

an FRS project funded by the European Union

Regional Seminar in South Africa
Missile Proliferation: What role for confidence-building measures such as the HCoC

25-26 Novembre 2025

Pretoria, South Africa

On 25-26 November 2025, the FRS, in cooperation with the Department of International Relations & Cooperation (DIRCO), hosted a Regional Seminar in Pretoria dedicated to ‘Missile Proliferation: What Role for Confidence-Building Measures Such as the HCOC?’. Representatives from South Africa , as well as governmental delegates from regional countries (including Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Namibia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) , and officials from international organisations and other experts took part in this event.

AGENDA

25 NOVEMBER 2025

Visit of the South African Air Force Museum

Presentation of the South African ballistic missile programme and its dismantlement (Prof. André Buys)

Introduction

  • Mr Alexandre Houdayer, Secretary General, Fondation pour la Recherche stratégique (FRS)

  • Mr Kevin Kazimirek, Head of Political, Press and Information Section, Delegation of the European Union to South Africa

  • Mr. Christian Mandl, Director of the Austrian Cultural Forum, Pretoria

  • Amb. Alejandro Garofali, Representative of Uruguay to the United Nations (Vienna), Chair of the HCoC (2025-2026)

  • Ms. Lutendo Muvhango Director, Transnational Organised Crime, Department of International Relations & Cooperation, DIRCO

First session: The Global Non-Proliferation & Disarmament Architecture, Southern Africa and the issue of ‘Means of Delivery’

Moderator: Ms Gugu Dube, Researcher, Automated Decision Research

  • Mr Simabatu Mayele Sims Nono, Executive Director, Centre for Research and Information on Disarmament and Security (CRIDS)

  • Mr Kudakwashe Mapako, Arms Control Negotiations Academy Fellow

  • Mr Abdel Darou-Salim, Coordinator, UNODA Small Arms and Light weapons Fellowship for Africa, UNREC

Second session: The proliferation of ballistic missiles: Currents trends and security challenges

Moderator: Ms Sandy Africa, Research Director, Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA)

  • Mr Noel Stott, Senior Researcher, VERTIC

  • Mr Ian Fleming Zhou, Nuclear Policy Analyst & Researcher, Atomic Reporters and PhD Candidate, University of Pretoria

  • Ms Emmanuelle Maitre, Senior Research Fellow, Fondation pour la Recherche stratégique (FRS)

Third session: The HCoC: A multilateral confidence-building measure dealing with ballistic missiles

Moderator: Ms Emmanuelle Maitre, Research Fellow, FRS

  • Amb. Alejandro Garofali, Representative of Uruguay to the United Nations (Vienna), Chair of the HCoC (2025-2026)

  • Mr George-Wilhelm Gallnofer, Director for Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Head of Immediate Central Contact of the HCoC, Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Austria (recorded presentation)

  • Mr Alexandre Houdayer, Secretary General, Fondation pour la Recherche stratégique (FRS)

Fourth session: Breakout discussion

 

9

26 NOVEMBER 2025

Fith session: Space developments and spread of dual-use technologies

Moderator: Mr David (Thandokuhle Mandla) Kasibante, Founder and CEO at Space4Tomorrow, Space Generation Advisory Council 

  • Mr Alexandre Houdayer, Secratary General, Fondation pour la Recherche stratégique (FRS)
  • Mr Jaymion Hendricks, Office of the Chief State Law Advisor (International Law), DIRCO

Sixth session: Interactive Exercise

Moderators: Mr Noel Stott (VERTIC), Ms Ermanuelle Maitre (FRS) & Mr Miguel Angel Garcia Carrasco (FRS) 
December
2021
Research Papers

Harnessing Transparency Potential for Missile Non-Proliferation

Information is key for non-proliferation efforts. But the times when information was the exclusive purview of governments are over. Affordable, commercial and open-source monitoring capabilities empower states and societies alike, while challenging the ability of governments to preserve secrecy. Technological democratisation means that information is practically becoming a public good. And it allows for unprecedented transparency.

Read More »
April
2021
Issue Briefs

The HCoC and Latin America

Latin America is one of the regions with the highest level of support for the HCoC. This support reflects the historic commitment of the region in favour of disarmament and non-proliferation. The remaining four non-subscribing states – Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba and Mexico – have voiced concerns about the adoption of the Code outside the United Nations framework and its limited scope.

Read More »
October
2016
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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