The Wassenaar Arrangement may be considered as an essential international legal instrument designed to increase regional cooperation in defense activities. The main goal of this organization is to promote the liberalization of information sharing and enhance cooperation between nations. Since its inception, the Wassenaar Arrangement has established rules that govern transfers of military technology and dual-use goods to help maintain peace and security in the area. Its long-term objectives are to promote transparency and trust among members while deterring inappropriate military cooperation.
In its early years, the Wassenaar Arrangement contained seven countries: United States, Germany, Britain, France, Russia, and Sweden. At the start, only the United States was a part of the organization; later on, all other participating states were added. Today, eighteen other countries are members of the organization. As of today, twenty-one countries have joined the organization. The latest additions are: Austria, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Greece, Italy, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.
The primary function of the organization is to regulate the transfer and exchange of information on uses of military or commercial arms and goods for international security purposes. Its primary goal is to encourage cooperation among states by making information easily accessible to the participating states. Its secondary functions are to ensure adequate information sharing standards and to implement relevant disciplines. It also developed conventions on the sharing of technical information and developed conventions for controlling the transfer and use of arms brokering services. Its final goal is to strengthen the voluntary mechanisms of state security agencies and nongovernmental organizations involved with the procurement of arms and amassing and providing training in using arms brokering services.
The primary means of implementing its protocols and strategies is through the voluntary association of non-members. There is no compulsion for a non-member to become a member of the organization. A decision not to become a member does not affect the effectiveness of the organization’s work. On the contrary, its work is enhanced when it has more members in various participating states and different countries. This allows the organization to pool its resources, knowledge and experience, and create better partnerships among its members.
The Secretariat of the Wartenlaar Arrangement, which is the Netherlands-based coordinating body for the disarmament of conventional weapons in the globe, is composed of an acting director, a disarmament coordinator, a non-arms Proliferation coordinator, and an outreach activities coordinator. The organization possesses permanent staffs including the secretary-general and the disarmament and non-proliferation coordinators. There is also a Secretariat office which is located in Wijre, The Netherlands. The office provides Secretariat services to the coordinators.
The objectives of the Wartenlaar Arrangements are to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and other inflammatory devices through its four core activities. These activities are: preventing the transfer and/or acquisition of nuclear weapons and equipment and components; preventing the supply of weapons and equipment to international terrorist organizations; promoting the peaceful use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes; preventing the abuse of nuclear power for military and missile tests; and ending nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and Asia. Its primary functions are to coordinate and provide information to its 33 participating states and provide technical assistance to them on relevant issues. Its mechanism also consists of the regular assessment of the condition of the Non-Proliferation Treaty States, their export controls, and licensing procedures and agreements. It is to apply these disciplines to strengthen the international non-proliferation regime and promote cooperation among nations in this area.
The Wassenaar Arrangement has been successful in its dual-use objectives. By being a founding member of the NPT and a signatory to the Comprehensive Test Ban treaty it has successfully restricted the export of technology that can be used for weaponization. Its activities have prevented the proliferation of materials and technology that are incompatible with the NPT and the CTA. In addition, the activities have been instrumental in maintaining the integrity of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and preventing the transfers and acquisition of illicit nuclear technology. Its activities have helped to close the gap between nonnuclear weaponzed fissile material and biological agents, and devices and materials that can be used to make such weapons.
The Wassenaar Arrangement has successfully achieved its objectives by ensuring the coherence of its various disciplines and its inter-relationship. Its work has helped to enhance global peace and security by reducing the proliferation risk posed by the export of military technology to rogue regimes and by maintaining the integrity of the NPT and CTA. This organization has been successful in achieving its goals because of its transparent policies and its consistent enforcement. However, some believe that its monitoring system is too lax and that there is a lack of consistency when it comes to controlling export of dual-use goods. There are also questions about the extent of its effectiveness in stopping the proliferation of nuclear arms and other weapons.