Middle East outreach seminar on HCoC in Amman

28 September 2016

On 28 September 2016, the FRS organised, in collaboration with the Arab Institute for Security Studies (ACSIS), a regional outreach seminar in Amman directed towards non-subscribing states in the region. This event was held at the University of Jordan.

AGENDA

WELCOMING REMARKS 

  • Dr. Ayman KHALIL, Director, ACSIS
  • Alexandre HOUDAYER, Secretary General, Foundation for Strategic Research
  • Egidijus NAVIKAS, Head of Politics, Press and Information Section, Delegation of the European Union to Jordan
  • H.E. Azamat BERDIBAY, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Jordan

 

I/ THE HCoC AGAINST THE PROLIFERATION OF BALLISTIC MISSILES: UNIVERSALITY, IMPLEMENTATION & VISIBILITY

  • Bruno HANSES, Senior Expert, European External Action Service
  • Nurken URMANTAYEV, Counsellor, Department for Multilateral Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan
  • Qasim Ali HUSSEIN, Head of the Delivery Means Department at the Iraqi National Monitoring Authority for Non-proliferation, Iraq
  • Dr. Bernd KUBBIG, Coordinator, Academic Peace Orchestra Middle East

 

KEY ISSUES:

  • Presentation by current HCoC Chair of progress and challenges relating to universality, implementation, and visibility
  • The role of the Code and other TCBMs in regional dynamics and the regional security environment: the view of a Middle East signatory country
  • The concrete meaning of implementing the HCoC, as perceived by a signatory state
  • Successes and challenges of the HCoC in today’s environment

 

II/ CURRENT TRENDS CONCERNING SPACE LAUNCH TECHNOLOGIES & CAPABILITIES: DYNAMICS OF SPACE LAUNCH AND FUTURE USES OF SPACE APPLICATIONS 

  • Alexandre HOUNDAYER, Secretary General, Foundation for Strategic Research
  • Karlygash AKHMETOVA, Senior expert of the International Space Law Directorate of the Aerospace Committee, Kazakhstan

 

KEY ISSUES:

  • The characteristics of the development of space launch technologies
  • The evolution of the satellite industry and its impact upon the space launch sector
  • Interactions between the Code and a civilian space programme

 

III/ CURRENT TRENDS CONCERNING BALLISTIC MISSILES TECHNOLOGIES AND PROLIFERATION: GENERAL & REGIONAL VIEWS

  • Gawdat BAHGAT, National Defense University, United States
  • Dennis GORMLEY, University of Pittsburgh, United States
  • Dr. Sitki EGELI, Izmir University of Economics, Turkey

 

KEY ISSUES:

  • The current regional state of play in the ballistic-missile field
  • Issues and challenges arising from this context
  • Proliferation rationales in the Middle East
  • Issues arising from dual-use technologies and related strategies
  • Comparative perspectives between the implementation and challenges of the HCoC and the WMDFZ in the Middle East Initiative

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: 

  • Al Sharif Nasser BIN NASSER, Head of the CBRN CoE in Jordan
    • Fighting WMD Proliferation in the Middle East

 

CONCLUDING REMARKS 

  • Dr. Jean-François DAGUZAN, Deputy Director, FRS
  • Dr. Ayman KHALIL, Director, ACSIS
  • Bruno HANSES, EEAS

The seminar was echoed in the following article published in the Jordanian newspaper Ad-Dustour

It was also mentioned on Jordanian national television:

Research Papers

The HCoC and China

China is currently the main ballistic missile possessor and spacefaring nation which remains outside the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC). This can be explained by China’s traditional opacity regarding its deployment of strategic missiles, but also its exports of ballistic systems or technologies abroad. This absence is nonetheless problematic for a regime based on voluntary transparency and confidence-building which aims at universality.

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Issue Briefs

The HCoC and South Asia

India’s and Pakistan’s ballistic missiles are mostly designed as delivery vehicles for their nuclear weapons. While intrinsically linked to their national security, ballistic missiles also have regional security implications for South Asia. Non-proliferation and arms control efforts have so far been aimed at the bilateral level. Subscription to other instruments including the HCoC remains low in the region, although India joined the HCoC in 2016.

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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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