(The following chronology describing the key meetings of the Australia Group was issued by the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency on October 29.)
Chaired by Australia, the "Australia Group" (AG) is an informal forum of states whose goal is to discourage and impede chemical weapons (CW) proliferation by harmonizing national export controls on CW precursor chemicals, sharing information on target countries, and seeking other ways to curb the use of CW.
The Group was formed in 1984 as a result of CW use in the Iran-Iraq War. Members meet annually in Paris, where the 1925 Geneva Protocol is deposited. The group's actions are viewed as complementary measures in support of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, the 1972 Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.
There are presently 30 members of the Group, including: EC-12, Australia, Argentina, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, South Korea and the United States. Requests by other states to join the Group are considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Group has no charter or constitution. It operates by consensus. On December 10, 1992, the AG issued its first joint background paper on the Group's activities.
The Group has established common export controls for chemical and biological weapons non-proliferation purposes. For CW, members of the AG control a list of 54 chemical precursors and a list of CW-related production equipment as well. For BW (biological weapons), members have established export controls on certain microorganisms, toxins and equipment that could be used in a BW program.
In tandem with export controls, the AG has periodically used warning mechanisms to sensitize its public to CBW proliferation. The Group has issued an informal "warning list" of dual-use CW precursors and bulk chemicals, and on CW-related equipment. Members develop and share the warning lists with their chemical industries and ask industry to report on any suspicious transactions. The AG has also used an approach to warn industry, the scientific community, and other relevant groups of the risk of inadvertently aiding BW proliferation.
The Group's meetings focus on sharing information about national export controls, considering proposals for "harmonization" -- the adoption of common controls by all members on chemical precursors, equipment, biological weapons- related materials and considering other measures to address CBW proliferation and use.
AUSTRALIA GROUP MEMBERSHIP
The following 30 countries are currently members of the "Australia Group" which attempts to discourage and impede CW and BW proliferation by harmonizing export controls on CW precursors, BW pathogens, and CBW dual-use production equipment, sharing information, and seeking other ways to curb the use of CW:
Australia (Canberra) Argentina (Buenos Aires)
Austria (Vienna) Belgium (Brussels)
Canada (Ottawa) Czech Republic (Prague)
Denmark (Copenhagen) Finland (Helsinki)
France (Paris) Germany (Bonn)
Greece (Athens) Hungary (Budapest)
Iceland (Reykjavik) Ireland (Dublin)
Italy (Rome) Japan (Tokyo)
Luxembourg (Luxembourg) Netherlands (The Hague)
New Zealand (Wellington) Norway (Oslo)
Poland (Warsaw) Portugal (Lisbon)
Romania (Bucharest) Slovak Republic (Bratislava)
South Korea (Seoul) Sweden (Stockholm)
Spain (Madrid) United States (Washington, D.C.)
Switzerland (Bern) European Community Commission
United Kingdom (London) (Observer)
AUSTRALIA GROUP MEETING PRINCIPAL RESULT
June 1985 First AG Meeting.
Core List of five chemicals.
September 1985 Development of a Warning List.
May 1986 Adoption of Warning List/35
chemicals.
September 14-15, 1987 Core List of eight chemicals.
April 19-21, 1988 Discussion of CW equipment
Warning List.
December 14-15, 1988 Thionylchloride added to
Core List. Core List of nine
chemicals. Four added to
Warning List/44 chemicals.
May 9-11, 1989 Adoption of U.S. proposal for
notifications of denials. Six
added to Warning List/50
chemicals. Japan imposes
controls on 50 chemicals.
Austria requested membership.
July 1989 AG documentation
system instituted. Proposed
biannual meetings.
December 12-14, 1989 Austria attends as new member.
CW Equipment Warning List
adopted. U.S. proposal on
Harmonization with emerging
suppliers. BW on Agenda for
Information and Policy Exchange.
June 19-21, 1990 #15 added to Core list,
Intersessional consideration of
#11, 12, and 29. Core List
of 10 chemicals. Adoption of
BW guidelines. Soviet and
Eastern European Seminar
proposed. U.S. proposal to
share information on chemical
license approvals.
December 11-13, 1990 #11, 12, 29 added to Core List.
Core List of 13 chemicals.
Customs Enforcement Exchanges
begin. Soviet and Eastern
European Seminar held after
the AG meeting in London.
May 21-23, 1991 Consensus to control 50 CW
precursors. Draft CW Equipment
List developed. Adoption of a
Press Release. Establishment of
Technical Working Groups.
Sweden recommended for
membership.
December 9-11, 1991 Sweden and Finland attend as
members. Working groups on
equipment, BW, Customs/
licensing, and precursors.
Export controls on CBW-related
equipment, microorganisms,
toxins, and one item of BW-
related equipment. Warning
mechanism on potential uses of
various chemicals in CW
programs. Warning mechanism on
microorganisms and toxins that
could be used in a BW program.
June 1-5, 1992 Expanded precursor controls to
54. Export controls on CBW-
related BW list of human, plant,
and animal pathogens to be
placed under export control.
Warning mechanism on
microorganisms and toxins that
could be used in a BW program.
December 7-10, 1992 Argentina and Hungary invited
as new members. AG released a
background and press release on
its activities. Agreed on the
continuing role of the AG in
support of the CWC and BWC.
Agreed on measures to control
the export of biological agents
and equipment which could be
used in a BW program.
June 2-10, 1993 Argentina, Hungary and Iceland
attend as new members.
Finalized package of
comprehensive export controls
on biological agents and
associated dual-use equipment.
Established "no undercut"
policy. Established outreach
program in an effort to provide
transparency to group
activities as well as promote
export controls as non-
proliferation tool.
December 6-9, 1993 Members reaffirm support for
CWC. Adopted methods to
streamline licensing procedures
to facilitate legitimate trade.
Expressed support for Asian
Export Control Seminar to be
hosted by Japan and Latin
American Seminar to be hosted
by Argentina.
May 16-19, 1994 Expressed continued support for
adherence to CWC and BWC and
the need for export controls to
support those regimes. Agreed
on common approach for
harmonizing export controls on
mixtures containing CW
precursors. Sought ways to
harmonize, streamline and
maintain effectiveness of
export controls within the
Group.
November 29-
December 1, 1994 Czech Republic, Poland and the
Slovak Republic attended the
meeting as new members.
Members dedicated themselves to
becoming original states
parties to CWC. Considered
steps to contribute to
international dialogue on the
need for and role of national
measures needed to prevent
assistance to CBW programs.
October 16-19, 1995 Romania attended as new member.
Members agreed to revisions
in control lists in light of
revelations concerning the
Iraqi BW program. Members
reaffirmed need for end-user
checks to ensure legitimate
trade. During Plenary
sessions, members discussed
heightened concerns of CBW
terrorism.
October 14-17, 1996 The Republic of Korea attended
as a new member. Members
welcomed the impending entry
into force of the Chemical
Weapons Convention (CWC) and
released a public statement
pledging support for the
Convention. Members outlined
changes to export control
legislation to conform to the
guidelines of the CWC. Members
continued to discuss ways the
Group could combat CBW
terrorism.