Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)

Overview

Potential Facility Impacts

Current Activities

Overview

Purpose and Background

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a global cooperative effort launched by the United States in May 2003 to prevent the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems, and related technologies. This agreement evolved from the 2002 U.S. National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction and from U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540, Nonproliferation of WMD.

The PSI relies on the voluntary cooperative actions of participating states to implement existing national and international legal authority to interdict air, land, or sea shipments containing WMD technology. These efforts are intended to deny, delay, or disrupt such shipments, particularly those to states and non-state actors of concern.

The PSI defines states and non-state actors of concern as countries or entities PSI participants determine should be subject to interdiction activities. These determinations are based on an assessment of a country’s or entity’s efforts to conduct the following proliferation-related activities:

• develop or acquire chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons and their delivery systems; or
• transfer (sell, receive, or facilitate) WMD, their delivery systems, or related materials.

On September 4, 2003, PSI participating states agreed on a Statement of Interdiction Principles (SOP), also referred to as the “Paris Principles.” The SOP provides a framework for coordinating participating states’ interdiction activities. Key standards of conduct agreed in the SOP include the following:

Key standards of conduct agreed in the Statement of Interdiction Principles (SOP) include the following:

• implement effective measures for interdicting WMD shipments;
• adopt procedures for exchanging information with other PSI participants and enhancing coordination;
• strengthen national authority to implement necessary measures;
• take appropriate action when interdicting shipments, to include:
• refusing to transport proliferation shipments to states and non-state actors of concern;
• implementing proper national authorities to prevent the transport of proliferation shipments through the state’s territory
• conducting searches of suspect vehicles, vessels, and aircraft inside the state’s territory (land, sea, and air); and
• allowing other participating states to search the state’s flag vessels, if necessary.

Some frequently cited accomplishments of the PSI include preventing a shipment of WMD-related technologies from reaching Syria in 2007 and seizing uranium enrichment equipment bound for Libya on the BBC China in 2003. This seizure is considered to have been significant in deterring Libya from continuing its WMD programs.

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Potential Facility Impacts

Key Verification Measures

Since the PSI is a voluntary agreement among participating states, there are no established verification measures. However, participants can establish national authorities which have the right to search suspect vessels and to seize WMD-related technologies. Participating states may also consent to allow their own vessels to be searched by other participating states if the ships are suspected of transporting proliferation-related cargo.

The PSI encourages participating states to establish bilateral and multilateral agreements to increase their capabilities for working together to prevent the spread of WMD. The United States has signed bilateral ship-boarding agreements with nine countries: the Bahamas, Belize, Croatia, Cyprus, Liberia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, and Panama. These bilateral agreements allow the United States and the other country involved to board and inspect suspect ships flying the other country’s flag.

To strengthen their interdiction capability, PSI participants conduct multi-country exercises. In addition, PSI participants voluntarily share information among themselves, as needed. The PSI Operational Experts Group (OEG) meets to discuss relevant PSI implementation issues.

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Current Activities

Recent Developments

As of August 2009, there were 95 states participating in the PSI. The most recent state to announce its endorsement of the PSI Principles was South Korea on May 26, 2009.

Eighty-eight participating states met in Washington, DC on May 28, 2008 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the PSI. At the end of this Senior Political Level Meeting, the participating states released a statement reiterating their support for the SOP and reaffirming their commitment to fulfilling UNSCR 1540.

The United States and other partner nations marked the sixth anniversary of the PSI on May 30, 2009. Since 2003, there have been more than 37 exercises involving the participation of more than 70 PSI nations.

On April 5, 2009, President Barack Obama declared his full support for the PSI and called on the global community to expand and strengthen the PSI into a “durable international [institution].” The United States is currently reviewing ways to ensure the PSI remains sustainable over the long term and continues to improve states’ capabilities for stopping illicit shipments of WMD, WMD delivery systems, and related materials worldwide.

The Global and Western Hemisphere OEG and Outreach Meeting took place in Miami, Florida from May 12-14, 2009. The latest meeting of the European OEG was held in Sopot, Poland, June 22-24, 2009. At the meeting, experts gathered from more than 30 countries to discuss best practices for preventing the trafficking of WMD and emphasized their commitment to the PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles.

PSI states participated in Exercise Phoenix Express, a maritime interoperability exercise, from April 22 – May 13, 2009. This exercise was led by the U.S. European Command and was conducted in the Mediterranean Sea with maritime interdiction PSI scenario injects.

The following PSI activities are planned for the second half of 2009:

• September 11-22, 2009: Exercise Panamax 2009, a U.S.-coordinated maritime exercise with PSI scenario injects;
• October 2009: PSI Exercise Leading Edge, a U.S. hosted exercise in the Persian Gulf; and
• October 27-30, 2009: PSI Exercise Deep Sabre II, a Singapore-led maritime interdiction exercise.