Written Answers. - EU Arms Exports.
Eric J. Byrne
Question:
26
Mr. E. Byrne
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
the initiatives taken by Ireland in the context of the EU Presidency with a view to building on the Luxembourg and Lisbon common criteria on arms exports and developing more effective controls on arms exports from EU countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[20014/96]
Tom Kitt
Question:
32
Mr. T. Kitt
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
the progress, if any, which has been made during Ireland's Presidency of the EU in relation to the control of the international arms trade, particularly the sale of arms from EU States to repressive regimes throughout the world.
[19987/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 32 together.
The Government's policy on arms exports, as set out in the White Paper on Foreign Policy, is the basis of the approach which we are pursuing in the EU and in relevant multilateral fora, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement and the UN General Assembly. We are particularly concerned about the need to strengthen controls on exports to repressive regimes.
Pursuant to the Luxembourg and Lisbon common criteria on arms exports, member states are encouraged, under the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, to inform and consult each other increasingly on matters of arms export control policy. These common criteria include the respect of human rights in the country of final destination and the internal situation as a function of the existance of tensions or internal armed conflicts. This ongoing process is intended to develop a common approach leading to a harmonisation of national policies. In this framework, the Irish Presidency is working for agreement on initial elements of interpretation of particular criteria and some practical measures for application of the criteria for internal use by arms export licensing authorities.
As anticipated in my reply to a question in this House on 4 July, full consensus on the Initial Elements of the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual Use Goods and Technologies was reached at a resumed Plenary meeting in Vienna on 10-12 July. The relevant Export Control Lists will enter into force next month. The 33 participants in this arrangement include the EU Fifteen but also all other major exporters of conventional arms and dual use goods and technologies, with the exception of China. This is important because, as indicated in the White Paper on Foreign Policy, individual arms-exporting countries are generally unwilling to exercise restraint unilaterally, at the risk of losing export markets to competitors. In view of its membership, the Wassenaar Arrangement has the potential to play an important role in developing international restraint in exports of arms and related dual-use goods and technologies, through the mechanisms of information exchange and peer review.
We are keen to see the Wassenaar Arrangement in place and operational at the earliest possible date. As Presidency, Ireland is seeking to ensure that the EU helps to achieve this. I am pleased to report that the Irish Presidency secured approval on 22 October of the necessary amendment to the lists incorporated in EU Council Regulation (EC) No. 3381/94 of 19 December 1994 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports of dual-use goods. The Presidency has thus ensured that the EU will control exports of all items on the List of Dual Use Goods and Technologies of the Wassenaar Arrangement with effect from 15 November. As arms exports, on the other hand, remain subject to national export controls, it is for each member state nationally to take any necessary steps to control exports of all items on the Munitions List of the Wessenaar Arrangement. For Ireland's part, these steps are in hand.
In the Disarmament Committee of the UN General Assembly, which is currently in session, Ireland has joined a representative group, including delevoping countries, as an original cosponsor of a new German initiative concerned with consolidating peace through practical disarmament. This reflects our longstanding concerns in the area of small arms and the need for restraint in arms production and procurement.
