Wassenaar Arrangement (WA)

Overview

Potential Facility Impacts

Current Activities

Overview

Purpose and Background

The Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) [long title: Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies], named for the Austrian city where it was first discussed, is a voluntary multilateral technology transfer and arms export control arrangement. The WA is intended to promote regional and international security through increased transparency and responsibility by participating states concerning arms and technology transfers.

Participating states rely on the coordination of individually maintained national export controls to prevent the transfer and re-transfer of WA-listed items to unauthorized entities or states of concern. The WA currently maintains two control lists, a Munitions List and a Dual-use Goods and Technologies List. There are twenty-two items on the Munitions List. These items are considered to have military uses. The Dual-use Goods and Technologies List consists of nine categories and two annexes: one for sensitive items and one for very sensitive items.

The governing body for the WA is the Plenary, which is composed of representatives from all participating states. The Plenary Chair rotates among the participating states. The first meeting of the Plenary was held in April 1996, in Vienna, Austria. There the participating states established the “Initial Elements” as the core document of the WA. WA control lists were implemented and the first data exchanges occurred on November 1, 1996. The second WA Plenary Meeting was held in December 1996, and WA Plenary meetings have been conducted at least once each year since that time. These usually occur in December.

Plenary meetings are conducted primarily to discuss WA implementation and to review and update the WA control lists. New export control methods may be discussed and developed, and other issues of concern to participating states may be addressed. The Plenary may also establish subsidiary groups when necessary to assist the Plenary. Current subsidiary groups are the General Working Group, which studies policy matters, and the Experts Group, which studies issues relating to the control lists. The WA Secretariat supports WA operations as needed.

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Potential Facility Impacts

Key Verification Measures

The WA contains no enforcement or verification provisions, nor does it provide a standard protocol or criteria for approving or denying the sale of goods. The WA is implemented by the national export controls established by each individual participating state. Verification of compliance with the WA relies on the unclassified data exchanges due April 30 and October 31, which report on the transfers to non-WA states of items on the WA’s two control lists.

The information reported includes data on conventional arms exports, license denials for dual-use list items, license denials for sensitive and very sensitive items, and transfers or licenses granted for sensitive and very sensitive items.

Data is reported for exports of the following eight categories of conventional arms:

1. Battle tanks
2. Armored combat vehicles
3. Large caliber artillery systems
4. Military aircraft/unmanned aerial vehicles
5. Military and attack helicopters
6. Warships
7. Missiles or missile systems
8. Small Arms and Light Weapons, including MANPADS

Data on the transfers of dual-use goods and technologies is reported for the following categories used on the dual-use control list:

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Current Activities

Recent Developments

Bulgaria assumed the Chair of the Plenary from January 1 through December 31, 2008. The 14th Plenary meeting was held December 2-3, 2008, in Vienna. Participating states agreed on a significant number of updates to the export lists to ensure their continued currency and relevance. Items of potential interest to terrorists were a particular focus of these discussions, including the potential acquisition of MANPADS by unauthorized users.

Canada assumed the Chair of the Plenary as of January 1, 2009. The next regular Plenary meeting will take place in Vienna in December 2009.