Visit of Europe’s spaceport in Kourou

18 & 21 May 2011

On 18-21 May 2011, as part of the European Union’s decision to support HCoC, the FRS organised a visit to Europe’s spaceport in Kourou (French Guiana), in close cooperation with the European Space Agency, the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), Arianespace, the Soyouz programme, the French Chairmanship of the HCoC and the French authorities in French Guiana.

This activity was a concrete way to implement transparency measures as provided for in the Code:

Subscribing States « consider, on a voluntary basis (including on the degree of access permitted), inviting international observers to their land (test-) launch sites » (article 4 ii)

Representatives from Mexico, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the United Arab Emirates and the United States took part in this 3-day visit. The agenda consisted in a series of presentations on the HCoC and on sites visits, including the Telemetry station and the Jupiter control room. On that occasion, participants attended the launch of Ariane V flight 202.

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.

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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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