Promoting the HCoC at the UNIDIR Space Security Conference

1 November 2022

Geneva

Dr Xavier Pasco, Director of the FRS, explained how the Hague Code of Conduct participates to space security during the UNIDIR Space Security Conference on 1st November 2022, in Geneva.

AGENDA

Panel II — How Can Space Security Be Achieved: Past, Present, Future Efforts And Practical Measures For PAROS

MODERATOR:

  • Cécile Aptel, Deputy Director, UNIDIR

PANELLISTS:

  • Andrey Belousov, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation in Geneva
  • Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, Amb. of Brazil, Consul General in Tokyo & former Chair of the GGE on PAROS

  • Ji Zhaoyu, Counsellor (Disarmament), Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva

  • Xavier Pasco, Director, Fondation pour la recherche stratégique

  • Jessica West, Senior Researcher, Project Ploughshares

Over the years, many different mechanisms and processes have been proposed to address space security concerns and to achieve the goals of PAROS. This panel will look at the past and present initiatives that States have undertaken to address space security concerns, and to consider what lessons can be learned for the future. Attention will be paid to initiatives including, the draft treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space and of the Threat or Use of Force Against Outer Space Objects, the draft International Code of Conduct for outer space activities, the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, the groups of governmental experts on TCBMs in outer space activities and on advancing a legally binding mechanism for PAROS, as well as the most recent open-ended working group on reducing threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours.

Issue Briefs

The Hague Code of Conduct in the Middle East

The HCoC holds special significance in the Middle East as the region is fraught with the development of ballistic arsenals, the use of missiles on the battlefield and the proliferation of such systems towards both states and non-state actors. Moreover, several ballistic missile programmes have been closely associated with WMD acquisition.

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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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