Virtual seminar dedicated to CARICOM countries - HCoC

Supporting the Hague Code of Conduct

an FRS project funded by the European Union

Virtual seminar dedicated to CARICOM countries

8 June 2021

Virtual

A new virtual event was held on 8 June 2021. The FRS and delegations from 8 Caribbean nations discussed over ballistic missile proliferation and the role of the Hague Code of Conduct.

AGENDA

PRESENTATION & WELCOMING REMARKS

Alexandre HOUDAYER, Secretary General, FRS
Amb. Marjolijn VAN DEELEN, Special Envoy for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, European External Action Service (EEAS), European Union
Anselme YABOURI, Director, United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC)
Amb. Joska KABONGO NGOY, Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DRC

I/ 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, HCoC Chair 2020-2021
George-Wilhelm GALLHOFER, Minister, Representative of the HCoC Immediate Central Contact (ICC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Austria
Alexandre HOUDAYER, Secretary General, 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 Caribbean countries in joining the Code? What constraints?

II/ KEYNOTE SPEECH

Jorge LÓPEZ, Project Advisor, UNLIREC

III/ The HCoC: CURBING BALLISTIC MISSILE PROLIFERATION IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL NON-PROLIFERATION & DISARMAMENT EFFORTS

MODERATOR:

Jorge LÓPEZ, Project Advisor, UNLIREC

PRESENTERS:

Emmanuelle MAITRE, Research Fellow, FRS
Paul WOHRER, Research Fellow, FRS

KEY ISSUES:

How to limit the risks associated with ballistic missile proliferation?
Links and bridges between the HCoC and other non-proliferation and disarmament tools
Contribution of regional organizations in implementing WMD disarmament and nonproliferation instruments

CONCLUSION

March
2022

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.

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.

October
2020

The HCoC: A Small Yet Key Tool Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation

The HCoC was adopted in 2002, at a time where the international community pushed strongly for the adoption of norms to promote non-proliferation and disarmament. It was initially designed as a first step which would lead to further regulations in the field. However, rising international tensions have prevented states from engaging beyond the 2002 compromise.