BEST PRACTICES FOR DISPOSAL OF
SURPLUS/DEMILITARISED MILITARY EQUIPMENT

(Agreed at the WA Plenary, 1 December 2000)

The following list of “best practices” for disposal of surplus military equipment (items that may or may not have been demilitarised) is drawn from the responses provided by Participating States on this subject and reflected in the matrix of national practices (WALEOM (99) SEC 10, Version 4.0, 23/05/2000. These practices are those actually followed or aspired to by Wassenaar Arrangement Participating States and are illustrative of effective export control over surplus/demilitarised military equipment.

1. Items of surplus military equipment (including small arms and light weapons), i.e., items designed for military use but no longer needed, remain subject to the same export controls as new equipment.
2. Safeguards are in place to prevent illicit resale and export of items of surplus military equipment that have been sold or otherwise transferred domestically.
3. Physical security measures and inventory controls are sufficient to prevent theft/diversion of items in storage.
4. Demilitarised equipment capable of being re-militarised is also subject to stringent export controls, in almost all cases identical to those controls applied to new military equipment.
5. The "Best Practices for Effective Enforcement" (WA-LEOM (00) CHAIR 6), including preventive enforcement, investigation, effective penalties, and international cooperation, are applied to ensure effective control of surplus/demilitarised military equipment.