Wassenaar Arrangement

The Wassenaar Arrangement (http://www.wassenaar.org) on Export Control for Conventional Arms and Dual Use Goods and Technologies is the successor regime to COCOM, the Co-ordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Control, which was dissolved in 1994. As COCOM's aim was to control transfers of high technology to former Warsaw Pact members, members agreed to wind up the regime after the end of the Cold War. However, an international organisation was still considered necessary to co-ordinate national controls on transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies to regions of instability and to countries/ places not observing international non-proliferation norms. Members of the Wassenaar Arrangement aim to ensure transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technology with military applications do not undermine international and regional security and stability or are not diverted for proliferation purposes. Members of the Arrangement include essentially the former members of COCOM, the Russian Federation and some other former Warsaw Pact countries/ places. The Wassenaar Arrangement controls consist of two lists : a conventional munitions list and a dual-use goods and technology list. As Hong Kong enjoys relatively free access to the Wassenaar Arrangement controlled dual-use goods and technology, the government is committed to enforcing controls of the Arrangement.