2007 Issue 1 - New York City Bar Association

I N T E R N A T I O N A L S E C U R I T Y A F F A I R S
pants from Europe, North America, and Asia that apply licensing measures
to the export of specified chemicals, biological agents, and dual-use
chemical and biological manufacturing facilities and equipment. These
export controls are aimed at both curbing proliferation and also “allow[ing]
legitimate trade to prosper in an unfettered manner and promot[ing] peaceful
economic development everywhere.” 122 Since 9/11, the Australia Group has
revised its export restrictions to include items that would be useful to
terrorists rather than states. 123
(2) The Missile Technology Control Regime
Formed in 1987, the MTCR restricts the export of delivery systems
(and related technology) capable of carrying a 500-kilogram payload for
a distance of at least 300 kilometers and systems capable of delivering
weapons of mass destruction. Its group of thirty-three participants largely
overlaps with the countries that make up the Australia Group. 124 The members
agree to a set of guidelines for the export of a list of materials. Some
transfers are prohibited; others are subject to the satisfaction of specific
conditions or the provision of certain assurances. The director of the State
Department’s Office of Chemical, Biological and Missile Nonproliferation
described the value of this regime: “MTCR Partners’ vigorous enforcement
of export controls consistent with the MTCR Guidelines and Annex continues
to make it more difficult for proliferators to get items for their
missile programs, increasing the cost, time, and effort required.” 125
The MTCR is now placing more emphasis on combating the risk of
missile components and components falling into the hands of terrorists.
122. Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, International Security Affairs Division,
The Australia Group, available at http://www.dfat.gov.au/security/downloads/
australian_group.pdf. Includes a list of participants.
123. See United States General Accounting Office, Strategy Needed to Strengthen Multilateral
Export Control Regimes, Report to Congressional Committees, GAO-03-43, October 2002,
available at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrptgao-03-43.
124. List of participants can be found at http://www.state.gov/t/np/rls/prsrl/2002/14497.htm.
125. Van Diepen, supra note 97. The MTCR only addresses the supply side of missile technology.
The United States has also lead the creation of a code of conduct aimed at the demand
side, known as the International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (ICOC).
It is a voluntary “political commitment” aimed at preventing states from developing and
stockpiling missile technology. The text may be found at http://projects.sipri.se/expcon/
drafticoc.htm. See also John Bolton, Remarks at the Launching Conference for the International
Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, (Nov. 25, 2002), available at
http://www.state.gov/t/us/rm/15488.htm. A critical review of the ICOC is found at http://
www.basicint.org/pubs/Notes/2002international_code.htm.
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