PRETORIA'S PERSPECTIVE ON HCOC ANNUAL DECLARATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 000704 ISN/MTR FOR HERRMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2019 TAGS: ETTC MTCRE PARM AORC SF SUBJECT: PRETORIA'S PERSPECTIVE ON HCOC ANNUAL DECLARATIONS REF: STATE 27822 Classified By: Classified by Deputy Political Counselor Madeline Seiden stricker for reasons 1.4 b an d. ¶1. (C) In accordance with Department guidance, we urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to ensure that South Africa's annual declaration under the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC) would be submitted in a timely fashion. On April 9 we informed DFA that the U.S. Declaration had been submitted (per reftel). DFA Deputy Director Michiel Combrink underscored that South Africa has remained fully compliant with its reporting obligations since becoming a subscribing state to the HCOC. ¶2. (C) Combrink expressed concern that "some States" have not lived up to their obligations, in particular in relation to the submission of pre-launch notifications and annual declarations. This tendency, in Combrink's view, has influenced other states to take their HCOC obligations less seriously. This non-compliance with commitments continues to undermine the Code, Combrink continued, and has serious consequences for international confidence and progress in the field of WMD delivery systems. Combrink expressed hope that all HCOC Subscriber States would start complying with all their obligations so that we can restore confidence and build a "non-discriminatory system" to eliminate the threat posed by all WMD delivery systems. LA LIME