African states and The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation

The report finds that 41 of 54 African UN member states have subscribed to the HCoC, with the highest participation in ECOWAS (93%) and the lowest in SADC (56%). While ballistic missile threats within Africa are generally low—with only Algeria and Egypt maintaining active programmes—the report highlights the growing importance of the HCoC as African states expand their civilian space agencies and the AU aims to establish an African Space Agency by 2023. Key challenges include the exclusion of cruise missiles from the HCoC scope, administrative burdens for resource-constrained states, and a lack of institutional memory. The authors argue that the HCoC supports a 'nexus between security and development' by facilitating peaceful space exploration and improving a state's non-proliferation credentials for technology exports.

• As of March 2021, 41 out of 54 African UN member states have subscribed to the HCoC, representing a subscription rate of 76%, which is slightly higher than the global average of 73%.
• Subscription rates vary significantly by Regional Economic Community (REC), with ECOWAS showing the highest participation at 93% and SADC the lowest at 56%.
• Thirteen African UN member states have not subscribed to the HCoC: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Mauritius, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
• Algeria and Egypt are the only African states currently maintaining active ballistic missile programmes, though the overall ballistic threat originating from the continent is considered low.
• The HCoC is viewed as relevant to Africa because it allows states to pursue peaceful space exploration and civilian rocket technologies without impeding developmental goals, provided they do not contribute to WMD delivery systems.
• African investment in space science and technology has grown, with over US$3 billion spent on space projects since 1998, and the AU aims to establish an African Space Agency by 2023.
• A significant limitation of the HCoC is that it does not cover cruise missiles or Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), the latter of which are already being deployed in Africa by Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa.
• Implementation of the HCoC in Africa is hindered by limited administrative resources, a lack of institutional memory due to staff turnover in foreign ministries, and language barriers for non-English speaking officials.

APA

Dube, G., Héau, L., Maitre, E., & Stott, N. (2021). African states and The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ar-34.pdf

Chicago

Dube, Gugu, Lauriane Héau, Emmanuelle Maitre, and Noel Stott. African states and The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation. Institute for Security Studies, 2021. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ar-34.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dube |first1=Gugu |last2=Héau |first2=Lauriane |last3=Maitre |first3=Emmanuelle |last4=Stott |first4=Noel |title=African states and The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=June 2021 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ar-34.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dube2021african, author = {Dube, Gugu and Héau, Lauriane and Maitre, Emmanuelle and Stott, Noel}, title = {{African states and The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ar-34.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }