The International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, also known as the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC), was established on 25 November 2002 as an arrangement to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles.
The HCOC is the result of international efforts to regulate access to ballistic missiles which can potentially deliver weapons of mass destruction. The HCOC is the only multilateral code in the area of disarmament which has been adopted over the last years. It is the only normative instrument to verify the spread of ballistic missiles. The HCOC does not ban ballistic missiles, but it does call for restraint in their production, testing, and export.
As agreed by the conference in The Hague, Austria serves as the Immediate Central Contact (Executive Secretariat) and therefore coordinates the information exchange of the HCOC.
To create a link between the UN and the HCOC, which was not negotiated in the context of the UN, a Resolution regarding the HCOC was tabled in the course of the 59th as well as the 60th and 63rd sessions of the General Assembly in New York City.
Since the HCOC's entry into force, eight Conferences of Subscribing States of the HCOC have been held. The 8th Regular Meeting of Subscribing States of the HCOC took place from 28–29 May 2009 under the chairmanship of Costa Rica; the 9th Regular Meeting is scheduled for 31 May - 1 June 2010 under the chair of France.
India joined the HCOC on 1 June 2016.
While the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) has a similar mission, it is an export group with only 35 members.
Membership
Since the signing and entering into force of the HCOC Code in November 2002 in The Hague, (Netherlands) the number of signatories has increased from 96 to 138 (136 UN members, the Cook Islands and the Holy See). India, which joined on 1 June 2016, is the latest signatory of the HCOC.
Currently the following states are not subscribers: