Annex
Questions relating to the Government’s Report – United Kingdom Strategic Export
Controls Annual Report 2012 – HC 561
The paragraph numbers follow those in the Government’s Report
Ministerial Foreword
a) What were each of the six occasions in 2012 when the use of the export licence
suspension mechanism was considered, and why in each case was it decided not to
invoke it?
b) Please provide the Committees with the country risk categorisations used in assessing
export licence applications.
c) Please state, on a classified basis if necessary, which countries are placed in each risk
category.
d) How many open licence applications were processed in 2012?
e) How many MoD Form 680 applications were processed in 2012?
f) Do the Secretaries of State accept that though their statement: “There was no evidence
of any UK-supplied equipment being used for internal repression” may be factually
correct, it is also profoundly misleading given that for many of the goods for which
Government export licence approval has been given and which could be used for
internal repression it is totally or virtually impossible to obtain evidence about their
use once exported — even in the unlikely case there are independent personnel on the
ground in a position to provide such evidence? Such exported goods, non-identifiable
as British once exported, that could be used for internal repression include
components for military equipment, software for military use, military technology,
cryptographic equipment,
components
and technology,
dual-use
chemicals,
ammunition and most sniper rifles and automatic weapons?
g) At the end of the Secretaries of State’s statement that: “There was no evidence of any
UK-supplied equipment being used for internal repression or in any other way which
would contravene the export licensing Criteria” why were the words “or which might
be used to facilitate internal repression” omitted, in accordance with the Foreign
Secretary’s policy statement to the Committees on 7 February 2012?
h) How is the Secretaries of State’s statement that “43 licences for Argentina were
subsequently revoked but the licensing of exports for purely commercial or private
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use has continued” to be reconciled with the Government’s approval after the 43
licence revocations in 2012 of export licences to Argentina for SIELs for small arms
ammunition, equipment employing cryptography, software for equipment employing
cryptography and OIELs for cryptographic equipment.
i) Please list each new set of EU sanctions on Iran being referred to, and the specific
licensing changes made by the present Government, or its predecessor, following each
new set of sanctions.
Section 1 UK and EU Policy Developments in 2012
Paragraph 1.1 Legislation
a) What UK and/or EU export controls are currently in place over the export of
pancuronium bromide to the USA for the use in executions by lethal injection?
b) Has the EU’s analysis of the responses to the consultation on the EU Commission’s
Green Paper, “The dual-use export control system of the European Union: ensuring
security and competiveness in a changing world”, been published? If so, please
provide the link to the analysis and inform the Committees of any responses the
Government made to it.
c) When does the Government now expect the EU Commission’s Report on Council
Regulation (EC) 428/2009 (the so-called “Dual-use Regulation) to be made to the EU
Council and the European Parliament? Please inform the Committees of any response
the Government makes to that Report when published.
d) Has the EU Commission now commenced its review of Council Regulation (EC)
1236/2005 (the so-called “Torture Regulation)? Please inform the Committees of any
response the Government makes to this review.
Paragraph 1.2 Policy Developments
a) Why is the Department for International Development, unlike the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, not asked for its advice before
the final decision to suspend export licences is taken by the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills?
b) What current risks, in addition to “WMD, political, security and human rights”, are
included in the Government’s new risk categorisation of countries to whom military
goods may be exported?
c) Please provide the Committees with a copy of the revised Overseas Security and
Justice Assistance (OSJA) Human Rights Guidance as soon as this is published.
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d) The Government’s Report states that all proposals from Government sponsors to gift
controlled goods are assessed against the Consolidated Criteria in the same way as
commercial applications and to the same degree of rigour. Please confirm therefore
that all proposals to gift controlled goods are assessed not only against the UK’s
Consolidated Criteria but also against the Foreign Secretary’s policy statement to the
Committees on 7 February 2012 that the export would not be permitted of controlled
goods “which might be used to facilitate internal repression”.
e) Why are companies who are being assessed for counter-piracy Open General Trade
Licences or Individual Trade Control Licences not being assessed against the Foreign
Secretary’s policy statement to the Committees on 7 February 2012 that the export
would not be permitted of controlled goods “which might be used to facilitate internal
repression”, as well as against the UK’s Consolidated Criteria?
Paragraph 1.3 Transparency and Accountability
a) The Government’s Report, published on 12 July 2013, states: “It is intended that the
first reports of open licence usage would be published, in line with standard practice,
3 months after the end of the Quarter to which they relate, i.e., October 2013.”
However, on 18 July the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince
Cable, stated in the House: “I have none the less established that we should dispense
with some procedures relating to quarterly reporting, and we will do so.” This was
followed by a Notice to Exporters issued by ECO on 31 July 2013 stating that: “the
Secretary of State announced to Parliament on Thursday 18 July 2013 that reporting
requirements on the use of Open Licences under the Transparency Initiative would be
scaled back significantly”. Why did the Government announce in the House of
Commons on 18 July a less transparent policy on open licence usage than that set out
in its Annual Report published 6 days previously?
b) Will the Government make public the same information relating to standard licence
usage as it now going to do for open licence usage?
Paragraph 1.4 Awareness
a) Will the Government be publishing on the Export Control Organisation’s website
entities of potential WMD concern in countries in addition to Iran, for instance Syria?
b) With regard to the Government’s updated website, what are the specific usability
improvements that have been put in place, what are the ones in the pipeline in
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addition to better navigation, and when will the additional facility to identify which
Open General Trade Control Licences may be applicable be in place?
Section 2 International Policy in 2012
Why are there no sub-sections on:
1. The Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty
2. The G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass
Destruction
3. The Chemical Weapons Convention
4. The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
5. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
6. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
7. Sub-Strategic and Tactical Nuclear Weapons
8. A Middle-East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone
9. The National Counter-Proliferation Strategy for 2012–2015
all of which raise proliferation issues?
Will the Government include its policies on all the above in its 2013 Annual Report?
Paragraph 2.2 Small Arms and Light Weapons
a) What progress has been made in enhancing the implementation of the International
Tracing Instrument to promote international co-operation in marking and tracing illicit
Small Arms and Light Weapons?
b) Has a voluntary sponsorship fund to boost assistance to less developed states in
dealing with illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons been established? If so, what is
the size of the fund and what amount has the British Government contributed to it?
Paragraph 2.3 Cluster Munitions
Is the UK Government still on track to destroy the remainder of its cluster munitions by the
end of 2013?
Paragraph 2.4 Ottawa Treaty/Landmines
What is the area of land in the Falkland Islands that is still to be cleared of mines and
unexploded ordnance and then released?
Paragraph 2.6 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
What were the Government’s policy objectives at the meeting of the High Contracting Parties
to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons held in November 2012 and how far
have these objectives been achieved? Does the Government consider that any additions
should be made to the existing five protocols which are as follows:
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-
Protocol I on Non-Detectable Fragments
-
Protocol II on the Use of Mines, Booby Traps and Other Devices
-
Protocol III on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons
-
Protocol IV on Blinding Laser Weapons
-
Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War
Paragraph 2.10 The Wassenaar Arrangement
What are the specific issues relating to the future membership of the Wassenaar Arrangement
at which participating states will be looking at in 2013?
Section 3 Export Licensing Case Studies
Argentina
Why was the value of arms export licences to Argentina in 2012 nearly 5 times greater than it
was in 2011, notwithstanding the fact that in April 2012 the Business Secretary announced
that the Government would no longer grant licences for any military or dual-use goods and
technology for military end-users in Argentina, other than in exceptional circumstances?
Libya
In deciding whether or not to approve arms export licence applications to Libya what account
is the Government taking of the Report of Experts to the UN on 9 March 2013 of what has
happened to the Gaddafi arms stockpiles, to which the UK was a contributor? The Experts’
Report stated: “The proliferation of weapons from Libya has continued at a worrying rate and
has spread into new territory: West Africa, the Levant and, potentially, even the Horn of
Africa. Since the uprising and the resulting collapse of the security apparatus, including the
loss of national control over weapons stockpiles and the absence of any border controls,
Libya has over the past two years become a significant and attractive source of weaponry in
the region. Illicit flows from the country are fuelling existing conflicts in Africa and the
Levant and enriching the arsenals of a range of non-State actors, including terrorist groups.”
Section 4 Export Licensing Data and Performance Against Targets During 2012
Paragraph 4.6 Open General Export Licences (OGELs)
If a UK exporter’s application satisfies the terms of an EU General Export Authorisation, is it
the Government’s policy that it must also satisfy the terms of the UK’s Consolidated Criteria
and the Foreign Secretary’s arms export policy statement to the Committees on Arms Export
Controls on 7 February 2012 before being approved?
Table 4.7 List of Open General Export Licences
Which is the country or countries of export destination for the OGELs named:
-
Chemicals
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-
Cryptographic Development
-
International Non-Proliferation Regime De-controls: Dual-Use Items
-
Low Value Shipments
-
Technology for Dual-Use Items
-
Specified Dual-Use Items (X) (and what is the meaning of (X)?)
-
Access Overseas to Software and Technology for Military Goods: Individual Use
Only
-
Military Components
-
Military Goods
-
Software and Source Code for Military Goods
-
Military Surplus Vehicles
-
Technology for Military Goods
-
Open General Transhipment Licence
-
Open General Trade Control Licence (Trade and Transportation: Small Arms and
Light Weapons)
-
Open General Trade Control Licence (Maritime Anti-Piracy)
-
Open General Trade Control Licence (Certified Companies)
-
Open General Trade Control Licence (Exports Under The US-UK Defence Trade
Cooperation Treaty)
Paragraph 4.7 Performance in processing licence applications
a) Why do performance targets not apply to applications for licences to export goods
that are subject to control solely because of United Nations Sanctions or to appeals in
relation to such applications?
b) In Table 4.10 what are the reasons for the deterioration of appeals finalised within
both 20 working days and 60 working days over the period 2010–2012?
c) What actions are being taken to achieve the target of processing 60% of appeals
within 20 working days (currently 23%) and 95% of appeals within 60 working days
(currently 60%)?
Section 5 Compliance and Performance
Paragraph 5.1 Compliance
What are the reasons why the number of warning letters where breaches of licence conditions
were found during visits rose from 45 in 2011 to 101 on 2012?
Paragraph 5.2 Enforcement activity undertaken by HM Revenue and Customs, Border Force
and the Crown Prosecution Service
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Is the increase in the number of seizures of strategic goods in breach of licensing
requirements or sanctions and embargoes from 141 in 2011–12 to 280 in 2012–13 due to
increased effectiveness of the authorities or to increased attempts to breach the licensing
requirements or both?
Section 6 Gifted Equipment
The Government’s Report states: “As a matter of policy, all proposals to gift controlled
military equipment are assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export
Licensing Criteria by relevant Government departments in the same was as commercial
applications and to the same degree of rigour.” Why are Government gifts of military
equipment not also being assessed against the Foreign Secretary’s policy statement to the
Committees on Arms Export Controls on 7 February 2012 that exports would not be
permitted of goods “which might be used to facilitate internal repression”?
Section 7 Government to Government
What is the policy followed in deciding whether or not to approve UK export licensing
coverage for either industry or the customer in Government to Government exports?
Annex D UK Return to EU Annual Report 2012
a) In future UK Strategic Export Controls Annual Reports will the Government include
in this Annex a description of each of the numbered EU Common Military List
categories?
b) Does the government make a UK Return to the EU Annual Report in respect of items
on the EU Dual-Use List? If so, will the Government include its Return in this
Annex?
Annex E International Commitments and Sanctions Regimes
E.1 Export Control Commitments in 2012
Will the Government in its subsequent Strategic Export Controls Annual Reports include the
year in which each Commitment was concluded?
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