The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies (WA) is an international organization.

The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilizing accumulations. Participating States seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such capabilities. The aim is also to prevent the acquisition of these items by terrorists.

The decision to transfer or deny the transfer of any item is the sole responsibility of each Participating State. All measures with respect to the Arrangement are taken in accordance with national legislation and policies and are implemented on the basis of national discretion.

Representatives of Participating States meet regularly in Vienna where the WA has established its headquarters and the Secretariat.

The WA Plenary is the decision-making body of the Arrangement. It is composed of representatives of all Participating States and normally meets once a year, usually in December. The position of Plenary Chair is subject to annual rotation among Participating States. All Plenary decisions are taken by consensus.

The Plenary establishes subsidiary bodies for the preparation of recommendations for Plenary decisions and calls ad hoc meetings for consultations on issues related to the functioning of the WA. At present, the main WA subsidiary bodies are: the General Working Group (GWG) dealing with policy-related matters, and the Experts Group (EG) addressing issues related to the lists of controlled items. Once a year, a Licensing and Enforcement Officers Meeting (LEOM) is held.

Vienna Points of Contact (VPOC) are called for periodic meetings under the Plenary Chair to facilitate intersessional information flow and communications between/among Participating States and the Secretariat.

Ukraine became one of the founding members of the WA in July 1996. In 2002 Ukraine held a successful presidency of the WA Plenary. Ukraine regularly shares relevant exchange information with the WA Participating States.

As of 2020, 42 countries are participants in the WA, namely: Australia, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, India, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, United States of America, Turkey, Hungary, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, Croatia Switzerland, Sweden and Japan.

The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) was established in 1987 at the initiative of the United States as a part of a nuclear non-proliferation policy.

Since 1993, Ukraine has provided control over international transfers of goods related to the rocket and space sector. On 24 July 1998 our state became a member of the MTCR and regularly participates in the meetings of the working bodies of the regime and the Plenary sessions of its member states.

The aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, complete rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles, and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogram payload for distance of at least 300 kilometers, as well as systems intended for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

The Regime’s controls are applicable to certain complete rocket systems (to include ballistic missiles, space launch vehicles (SLVs), and sounding rockets) and unmanned air vehicle (UAV) systems (to include cruise missiles, drones, UAVs, and remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs)). Partners also recognize the importance of controlling the transfer of missile-related technology without disrupting legitimate trade and acknowledge the need to strengthen the objectives of the Regime through cooperation with countries outside the Regime.

The Regime rests on adherence to common export policy guidelines applied to an integral common list of controlled items listed in the MTCR Equipment, Software and Technology Annex. The MTCR does not take export licensing decisions as a group. Rather, individual partners are responsible for implementing the Guidelines and Annex on the basis of sovereign national discretion and in accordance with national legislation and practice.

MTCR partner countries are keen to encourage all countries to observe the MTCR Guidelines on transfers of missiles and related technology as a contribution to common security. A country can choose to adhere to the Guidelines without being obligated to join the group.

MTCR partners regularly exchange information about relevant national missile non-proliferation export licensing issues in the context of the Regime’s overall aims. A Plenary Meeting is held annually and chaired on a rotational basis. In addition, inter-sessional consultations take place monthly through Point of Contact (POC) meetings in Paris, while Technical Experts Meetings are held on an ad hoc basis. The MTCR has no secretariat; distribution of the Regime’s working papers is carried out through a Point of Contact (PoC) the functions of which are performed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France.

As of 2020, 35 countries are participants in the MTCR, namely: Australia, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Great Britain, Greece, Denmark, India, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United States of America, Turkey, Hungary, Ukraine, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan.

In 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) entered into force. The NPT approved the principles of non-transfer of nuclear weapons to other states, as well as counteracting their production or acquisition.

Some States Parties have established informal alliances to take joint action to counter the development of nuclear programs by States that do not adhere to the relevant principles of nuclear non-proliferation. These informal associations have been renamed the Zangger Committee (ZC) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

In particular, in 1978 the NSG was established as an informal association of nuclear supplier countries (Great Britain, Canada, the USSR, the USA, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Japan), which agreed on common principles for the export of “nuclear sensitive” items. and seek to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by countries not designated as nuclear by the NPT. The NPT Guidelines are published in the IAEA document INFCIRC/254 and cover industrial goods that can be used to build nuclear weapons. The NSG Guidelines were first approved in 1992 and it was a significant contribution to the international export control system.

National control over dual-use goods in the “nuclear” direction has been carried out in Ukraine since 1993. Ukraine became a member of the NSG in April 1996, when it first took part in the regime's meetings in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Delegations of Ukrainian experts regularly participate in the meetings of the regime’s expert and advisory groups and the NSG Plenary Meetings to discuss changes and additions to the NSG Guidelines and relevant Control Lists.

As of 2020, the participants of the NSG are 48 countries, namely: Australia, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Belarus, Bulgaria, Brazil, Great Britain, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Canada, China, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, United States, Turkey Hungary, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan.

The Zangger Committee (ZC) was established in 1974. Ukraine has also been a member of the ZC since 1996.

The ZC was established by a group of the NPT member states and became a starting point in establishing an international control system for “nuclear” exports, agreeing on a “trigger list” (Trigger list), which member states use in national export control systems. As a result, a list of goods and technologies sensitive in the context of nuclear proliferation has been established and agreements have been reached on the control of international transfers of such goods.

The ZC meets twice a year.

As of 2020, the ZC has 39 member states, namely: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Canada, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.

Australia Group (AG) was established as an international export control regime in 1985, when the world community voiced concerns regarding chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988, to establish common rules of export control over goods which can be used to create chemical and biological weapons.

AG is forum for elaboration of agreed policy of export control and licensing to minimize risks of proliferation of chemical and biological weapons. Within the framework of the AG, lists of toxic chemicals and their precursors, biological substances, chemical and biological equipment and dual-use technologies have been agreed. The state participants undertook political commitments to ensure national control over the export of these goods.

The activities and development of the AG is based on the Guidelines defining directions of international and regional policy on export control over chemical and biological agents, as well as dual-use equipment. The Guidelines as well as the AG control lists are available through the link: www.australiagroup.net.

Ukraine has been a full member of the AG regime since 2005 and participates in the analysis and discussion of proposals and comments during the meetings of the AG working bodies.

As of 2020, the participants of the AG are the European Commission and 42 countries, namely: Australia, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, India, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Latvia , Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, United States, Turkey, Hungary, Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland , Sweden, Japan.