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This report was originally prepared by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Monterey Institute
of International Studies in January 1998 under a grant from the United
States Department of Energy's Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control.
The views expressed in this report are those of the authors alone, and
do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Energy or the
United States Government.
Introduction
Administrative Bodies
Export Control Legislation
Export Licensing Process
International/Bilateral Agreements
Export Control Developments
INTRODUCTION
Armenia
has demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with other countries in preventing
WMD proliferation. It has taken several steps to strengthen its export
controls starting with nonproliferation export control decrees dating back to 1993.
However, much of the progress that has been made is primarily
on paper, and Armenia lacks the trained specialists necessary to effectively
implement those export controls already in place.[1]
Armenian industry includes the production of metal cutting machine tools,
chemicals, and microelectronics.[2] In addition, the Analitsark
Plant in the city of Gyumri produces testing and analytical devices for
nuclear power plants. Its clients reportedly include Iran, Yemen, China,
Russia, Lithuania, Pakistan, Greece and Turkey.[3] The Metsamor
Nuclear Power Plant, which was restarted in October 1995 after six years
of seismic retrofitting, requires the import of fresh nuclear fuel from
Russia. Armenia borders Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
Although the
border with Iran is only 35km long, Iran is Armenia's second-largest
trading partner. By virtue of its location, Armenia could serve as a
conduit for WMD materials being shipped elsewhere.[4] In May 1995 the Azerbaijani press claimed that Russia was planning
to secretly transfer some materials via Armenia for nuclear reactors in Iran and
use deliveries of fresh fuel to Metsamor as a cover.[5] In 1997, the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry released a statement on Russian-Armenian illicit cooperation.
Azerbaijani officials claimed that Russian shipments included missile systems
with a range of 300 kilometers capable of carrying nuclear warheads and also
about a thousand shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft rockets "Strela."
Some sources say that these shipments were made from Russia to Armenia across
the Caspian Sea and Iran.[6] Although there is no real evidence of such
shipments, this information raises a concern about certain proliferation risks
in the region.
ADMINISTRATIVE BODIES
This section provides brief descriptions of the responsibilities of
governmental bodies and agencies that play a significant role in the export
control system in Armenia.
GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA
The Government currently plays a major role in the export control process, as
it is responsible for issuing export licenses for sensitive goods. The Prime
Minister himself must give his permission for a license to be issued. In
addition, the Government contributes to the development of export control
policy.[1]
GOVERNMENT COMMISSION ON EXPORT CONTROLS
This interagency commission was established in July 1993. It is responsible
for reviewing export license applications and submitting its conclusions to
the Government. Members include the Deputy Prime Minister, Head of the State
Department of National Security, the First Deputy Head of the Military and
Industrial Commission, and other Deputy Ministers from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Ministry of National Security, the Customs Committee, and other
relevant ministries and government bodies. The Commission also includes
experts from academies and institutes who help to evaluate license
applications.[2]
MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
The Ministry of Economy plays a key role in the export licensing process. It
is responsible for the technical processing of license applications, as well
as for making preliminary recommendations on license approval or denial to the
Government Commission on Export Controls.[2]
GOVERNMENT COMMISSION ON ARMS CONTROL AND
DISARMAMENT
This commission was created in the first part of 1997. It will have
responsibilities for issues related to weapons of mass destruction–
including the formulation of Armenian government policies towards relevant
international agreement and treaties. The head of this commission is a Deputy
Foreign Minister.[2]
EXPORT CONTROL LEGISLATION
This is not necessarily a complete list of Armenian export control decrees.
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE, 1 MAY 1993
This decree called for the establishment of a Government Commission on Export
Controls.[1]
GOVERNMENT RESOLUTION NO. 391, 28 JULY 1993
This resolution implemented the May 1993 Presidential Decree, by establishing
a Government Commission on Export Controls.[2]
GOVERNMENT RESOLUTION NO. 487, 27 SEPTEMBER 1993,
"LIST OF MATERIALS, SUBSTANCES, EQUIPMENT, AND DUAL-USE TECHNOLOGIES
REQUIRING EXPORT LICENSES"
This list includes four categories of items that are subject to export
controls:
- nuclear and nuclear-related materials, equipment and technologies;
- bacteriological and poisonous weapons-related materials, equipment and
technologies;
- missile-related materials, equipment and technologies; and
- chemical weapon-related materials, equipment and technologies.[2, 3]
GOVERNMENT RESOLUTION NO. 58, 16 FEBRUARY 1996,
"EXPORT CONTROL OF INDUSTRIAL COMMODITIES, MACHINERY, AND OTHER KINDS OF
TECHNOLOGIES"
This resolution approved the list of industrial commodities of proliferation
concern, whose export is controlled.[2]
An interagency group has been created to work on the development of an export
control law. The group is comprised of representatives from the National
Assembly, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Customs Committee, the Ministry of Trade
and Industry, the Border Guard Department of the National Security Ministry,
and the Government of Armenia.
EXPORT LICENSING PROCESS
The licensing process for the export of conventional arms and for nuclear and
chemical dual-use items is as follows: An enterprise is required to submit an
export license application, including a copy of the export agreement or
contract and a certificate of origin of the goods in question, to the
Government of Armenia. The Government then forwards this documentation to the
Export Control Commission. The commission gives preliminary permission to
proceed, and then forwards the application to a working group in the Ministry
of Economy for technical processing of the documents. Within the Ministry of
Economy, the application is thoroughly reviewed by an Expert Group, which
checks the export contract and the specifications of the good to be exported.
The Expert Group, which is headed by the Deputy Minister of Economy, then
conveys its conclusion regarding license approval or denial to the Government
Export Control Commission. The conclusion of the Ministry of Economy's Expert
Group is then discussed within the Commission, where representatives from
other ministries have the opportunities to discuss possible reservations. For
example, representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National
Security would examine the application taking into account foreign policies
and national security concerns, respectively. If the Export Control Commission
concludes that an export license should be granted, it forwards its decision
to the Government. Within the Government, the Prime Minister himself must
grant final permission for the approval of an export license. The license
itself is issued by the Government of Armenia. The entire licensing process
takes about two to three weeks.[1, 2]
However, according to Armenian government officials, this system is not yet
widely implemented within Armenia. There is not yet any special mechanism for
regulating the transit of materials through Armenia.[1]
INTERNATIONAL/BILATERAL AGREEMENTS
For general information on international organizations and nonproliferation,
please see the 2000
Inventory
of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes.
26 June 1992. Armenia became a signatory to the Minsk Accord on CIS
Export Control Coordination. In this agreement, the States-Parties agreed
to create national export control systems, coordinate their efforts to control
exports of materials used in the production of weapons of mass destruction,
and create uniform control lists based on existing international export
control regimes.[1] As has been the case with many multilateral agreements
between CIS countries, however, very little has been done to implement this
early attempt to coordinate CIS export control policy. The most recent meeting
on CIS export control coordination took place on October 29, 1997.
Representatives from CIS states discussed the importance of harmonizing
national export control legislation, and proposed the creation of an export
control working group under the aegis of the Council of Foreign Ministers of
CIS states.[2]
19 March 1993. Armenia signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.
9 February 1993. Armenia reached an agreement with Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to cooperate in the control of
exports of raw materials, equipment, technology, and services that could be
used in the creation of a weapon of mass destruction.
15 August 1993. Armenia joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state.[3]
27 September 1993. Armenia became a member of the International
Atomic Energy Agency.[3]
5 May 1994. A Safeguards Agreement between Armenia and the
International Atomic Energy Agency entered into force.
27 January 1995. Armenia ratified the Chemical Weapons
Convention.
March 1996. Armenia and Russia signed a bilateral agreement on
developing common policies on export controls.[4]
29 September 1997. Armenia became the first country with an
operating nuclear power plant to sign the 93+2 program Additional Protocol
to its comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA. The Protocol will
enter into force upon its ratification by the Armenian Parliament. Pending
entry into force, the protocol applies provisionally from the date of its
signature.[5]
Armenia is a signatory to the Biological Weapons Convention.
Armenia has participated as an observer in Nuclear Suppliers Group
meetings.[6]
Page last updated 20 August 2001 Comments or questions? Contact Kenley Butler at
MIIS CNS: Kenley.Butler@miis.edu |
