Press Statement - 12 July 1996

Representatives of 33 States met in Vienna, Austria on 11 and 12 July 1996 and decided to implement the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies.

Bulgaria and Ukraine were welcomed as new participants and co-founders by Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The purpose of the Arrangement reflected in the Initial Elements agreed to at the meeting, is to contribute to regional and international security by:

• promoting transparency and greater responsibility with regard to transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilizing accumulations;
• seeking through national policies, to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such capabilities;
• complementing and reinforcing, without duplication, the existing control regimes for weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, as well as other internationally recognized measures designed to promote transparency and greater responsibility, by focusing on the threats to international and regional peace and security which may arise from transfers of armaments and sensitive dual-use goods and technologies where risks are judged greatest; and,
• enhancing cooperation to prevent the acquisition of armaments and sensitive dual-use items for military end-uses, if the situation in a region or the behavior of a state is, or becomes, a cause for serious concern to the Participating States.

This arrangement will not be directed against any state or group of states and will not impede bona fide civil transactions. Nor will it interfere with the rights of states to acquire legitimate means with which to defend themselves pursuant to Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Participating States will control all items set forth in the List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies and the Munitions List with the objective of preventing unauthorised transfers or re-transfers of these items.

The decision to transfer or to deny a transfer of any item will be the sole responsibility of each Participating State. All measures undertaken with respect to the arrangement will be in accordance with national legislation and policies and will be implemented on the basis of national discretion.

The participants agreed detailed arrangements for the creation of a Secretariat in Vienna to facilitate the future work of the Arrangement and agreed to a work program that will expand and enhance the Arrangement in ways that will further its central purposes.

The next Plenary of the Arrangement is scheduled for December, 1996 in Vienna