House of Commons - Foreign Affairs

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Minutes of Evidence

Further Memorandum submitted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

ARMS EXPORTS AND BREACHES OF UN SANCTIONS

Procedures, mechanics and criteria for arms export licence applications

Attached to this note are (not printed):

(a) a copy of the DTI's guide for business on export controls;

(b) a copy of the Foreign Secretary's statement of 28 July 1997 setting out the criteria used in considering licence applications for the export of conventional arms;

(c) a copy of the FCO's Non-Proliferation Department's guidance for FCO desk officers setting out the procedures and mechanics within the FCO for the consideration of export licence applications. It should be noted that this guidance has, to some extent, been overtaken by the revised arms export criteria announced by the Foreign Secretary on 28 July 1997. The Guidance is currently being updated;

Breaches of UN sanctions and UK legislation implementing them

UN mandatory sanctions are imposed by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. In the United Kingdom, the sanctions are implemented in domestic law by Orders in Council made under the United Nations Act 1946. In the case of Sierra Leone, UN Security Council Resolution 1132 was implemented in UK Law by the Sierra Leone (United Nations Sanctions) Order 1997 (No 2592), which was laid before Parliament on 31 October and came into force on 1 November 1997. Corresponding Orders were made for the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories.

Information on possible breaches of UK export controls or UN sanctions is exchanged through a number of different working level contacts. Of key importance is that any such allegation should be passed to the appropriate Department(s) responsible for deciding whether it merits further investigation.

The Restricted Enforcement Unit (REU), which meets once a fortnight, provides the forum for the identification, dissemination and discussion of intelligence and other information relevant to the achievement of UK export control objectives and non-proliferation policy. However, separate fora, the Sanctions Information Groups (SIGs), meet once every six weeks to monitor suspected breaches of UN sanctions against Iraq and Libya with respect to non-strategic goods and technologies: suspected breaches of arms embargoes are dealt with by the REU. The Iraq Sanctions Information Group is chaired by the FCO's Middle East Department: the Libya Sanctions Information Group by the FCO's Counter Terrorism Policy Department. All relevant Whitehall departments are represented.

In addition to intelligence reports, individual member departments bring to the REU's attention other information that is relevant to the REU's objectives. Each REU meeting considers what action such information requires and from whom. Action regarding the enforcement of UK export controls (including a breach of UN sanctions by a UK company or individual or an alleged breach of a UK export licence) would usually fall to either the DTI or Customs. The alerting of a foreign government to a suspected breach, by one of its companies, of an EU or UN embargo would usually fall to the FCO.

The FCO is represented at REU meetings by officials from Non-Proliferation Department (NPD). NPD regularly remind FCO geographical departments to bring to the REU's attention, through NPD, any matters relevant to the REU's objectives. Following each REU meeting, NPD circulate to relevant FCO departments a minute recording any FCO action points arising and any new information of particular interest.

RESTRICTED ENFORCEMENT UNIT STATISTICS

Notes

The majority of new cases (new referrals) raised in the Restricted Enforcement Unit come from intelligence reports. The FCO may raise for discussion particularly pertinent reports, but the reports do not originate in the FCO. The balance of new referrals are raised at the REU by members from information they have received.

The REU considers possible and/or potential breaches of export controls and sanctions/embargoes involving strategic/controlled goods globally, not just involving UK companies, entities or personalities. As the Committee has asked for REU statistics, the figures given for arms exports relate to arms exports globally, not just from the UK, to destinations not subject to embargo.

The statistics for arms exports include all possible military equipment supplies and dual-use technology, particularly that which may be used in weapons of mass destruction programmes (WMD).

1998

1st Quarter (January-March)

Total number of new referrals to the REU: 444

Of which 19 were raised by the FCO.

Of these:

10 related to arms exports;

The embargoes concerned were:

UN embargo on Sierra Leone (Sandline);

National embargo on Iran.

The other seven were possible breaches of the UN embargoes on Iraq and Libya by other countries.

1997

4th Quarter (October-December)

Total number of new referrals to the REU: 478

Of which 18 were raised by the FCO.

Of these:

9 related to arms exports;

The embargoes concerned were:

EU on Nigeria;

National embargo on Iran.

The other seven were possible breaches of the UN embargo on Iraq by other countries.

3rd Quarter (July-September)

Total number of new referrals to the REU: 409

Of which 14 were raised by the FCO.

Of these:

11 related to arms exports;

The embargo concerned was: National embargo on Iran.

The other two were possible breaches of the UN embargo on Libya and the EU embargo on Burma by other countries.

2nd Quarter (April-June)

Total number of new referrals to the REU: 413

Of which 16 were raised by the FCO.

Of these:

10 related to arms exports;

The embargoes involved were:

National embargo on Iran;

UK company suspected of activity breaching embargoes/sanctions—not clear from minutes which ones.

The other four were possible breaches of the UN embargoes on Iraq and Libya by other countries.

1st Quarter (January-March)

Total number of new referrals to the REU: 462

Of which 28 were raised by the FCO.

Of these:

14 related to arms exports;

The embargo concerned was:

National embargo on Iran.

The other nine were possible breaches of the UN embargoes on Libya and Iraq by other countries.

1996

4th Quarter (October-December)

Total number of new referrals to the REU: 421

Of which 28 were raised by the FCO.

Of these:

16 related to arms exports;

The embargo concerned was:

National embargo on Iran.

The other 10 were possible breaches of the UN embargoes on Libya, Iraq and Rwanda, and EU embargoes on Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and China by other countries.

3rd Quarter (July-September)

Total number of new referrals to the REU: 498

Of which 23 were raised by the FCO.

Of these:

13 related to arms exports;

The embargoes concerned were:

National embargo on Iran (x2);

National embargo on Argentina (1); and

the UN embargo on Libya (1).

The other six were possible breaches of the UN embargoes on Libya and Iraq, and the EU embargo on Burma, by other countries.

2nd Quarter (April-June)

Total number of new referrals to the REU: 453