05 December 2000 Boucher: Wassenaar Agreement on Weapons Export Controls Keep Missiles from Terrorists The State Department December 5 welcomed the adoption by the 33-nation Wassenaar Arrangement -- at its meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, December 1 -- of stringent controls on shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles known as MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems). State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the agreement, "will help make the world safer by helping to keep dangerous surface-to-air missiles, such as Stingers and SA-18s, out of the hands of terrorists and international outlaws. It will thereby reduce the threats posed by illicit acquisition and use of such weapons to civilian aircraft, U.S. troops overseas, and peacekeepers around the globe." The Plenary's approval of this U.S. proposal capped a two-year joint effort by the Departments of State and Defense to carry out Secretary Albright's 1998 initiative calling for strict multilateral controls on these missiles. Following is the text of Boucher's statement: U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesman December 5, 2000 Statement by Richard Boucher, Spokesman Wassenaar Arrangement Agreement: Man-Portable Air Defense Systems Export Controls The 33-nation Wassenaar Arrangement adopted stringent controls on shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles generally known as MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems) at its Plenary meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia on December 1. This agreement, the first ever to place multilateral controls on these weapons, will make America and the world safer by helping to keep dangerous surface-to-air missiles, such as Stingers and SA-18s, out of the hands of terrorists and international outlaws. It will thereby reduce the threats posed by illicit acquisition and use of such weapons to civilian aircraft, U.S. troops overseas, and peacekeepers around the globe. The Plenary's approval of this U.S. proposal capped a two-year joint effort by the Departments of State and Defense to carry out Secretary Albright's 1998 initiative calling for strict multilateral controls on these missiles. This agreement among Wassenaar Participating States, which comprise most of the world's major arms exporters, sets comprehensive and strict controls on the export of Man-Portable Air Defense Systems similar to those already employed by the United States. Before approving the transfer of these weapons, Participating States will satisfy specific criteria, including securing end-use and non-transfer guarantees from the recipient government, and establishing whether a proposed recipient is both willing and able to implement effective security and accountability measures for storage, handling, transportation, and use of the weapons to prevent compromise, loss, theft, diversion, or unauthorized use. The Wassenaar Arrangement was established in 1996 as a presidential initiative to promote transparency, responsibility, and restraint in international transfers of conventional arms and sensitive dual-use items. A copy of the Man-Portable Air Defense Systems export controls is available on request. It will also be available on the Wassenaar Arrangement website (www.wassenaar.org) in the near future. (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) Return to the Washington File