The Nuclear Suppliers Group

by Tadeusz Strulak

Ambassador Tadeusz Strulak served as Chairman of the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting in 1992. He has been an ambassador
to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and is currently an Advisor to the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs. This article is
adapted from a paper prepared for a workshop on "The New Role of International Organizations in Nonproliferation" held at
the Monterey Institute of International Studies, August 27-29, 1993.

Nuclear Export Control: The Early Stages Article III.2 of the NPT) should govern the exports of these
items to non-nuclear weapon states not party to the NPT.
The question of nuclear export control arose as early as the These requirements obligated nuclear suppliers:
exports themselves. Suppliers first sought safeguards and a) to obtain the recipient's assurance excluding uses of the
assurances of the peaceful use of exported items in the exported items for a nuclear explosion;
1950s. They sought these assurances through the b) to subject those items, as well as the material on the
implementation of bilateral agreements. At that time, the Trigger List produced through their use, to IAEA
application of safeguards was entrusted to the International safeguards;
Atomic Energy Agency after its creation in 1957, and to c) to ensure that Trigger List items are not re-exported to
Euratom, which safeguarded exports to its member states. a third party unless the third party recipient meets the
conditions of a) and b).
The parties who signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation These requirements and the Trigger List were
of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1968 agreed "... not to included in two memoranda of the Zangger Committee and
provide (a) source or special fissionable material or (b) published by the IAEA in September 1974 in its document
equipment or material especially designed or prepared for INFCIRC/209. The memoranda constituted the first major
the processing, use, or production of special fissionable agreement which set out rules for nuclear exports.
material, to any non-nuclear weapon State for peaceful
purposes, unless the source or special fissionable material
shall be subject to the safeguards required by this Article The Initiation of the NSG: 1975-1977
[III.2]."
The explosion of a nuclear device by India in May 1974
Neither the source and special fissionable material nor the (some two months before the Zangger Committee
especially designed or prepared equipment and material for memoranda were agreed upon), as well as attempts of some
the processing, use or production of the latter was defined in other states to create a full nuclear fuel cycle, increased
the Non-Proliferation Treaty. This lack of definition gave concern about nuclear proliferation. It caused the major
rise to differing interpretations as to what constituted suppliers to focus closer scrutiny on the management of
restricted equipment and material. As a result, some parties nuclear exports. A new suppliers group was then
to the NPT established the Zangger Committee (named after established and became known first, unofficially, as "the
its first chairman, Professor Claude Zangger of Switzerland) London Club" (since it met from 1975 to 1977 in London)
in 1971 to clarify these matters. The Committee was based and later — more officially and more adequately — as the
in Vienna. Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The inclusion of France
in the NSG had special significance, because France was
In 1974 the Committee confirmed the definition of source not a party to the NPT and therefore was not a member of
and fissionable material contained in the Statute of the the Zangger Committee. The establishment of the NSG
IAEA and produced a list (called the Trigger List) of brought France, a major supplier, into the multi-lateral
material and equipment for its processing, use, or discussions with the other major suppliers.
production. Perhaps more important was the agreement
reached on minimal requirements that (on the basis of Early in 1976, the original seven members (the United

The Nonproliferation Review/Fall 1993

2
States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, the consultation mechanism, a necessary feature of an
Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, and Canada) agreed international organization. For many years, however, this
on the first version of "Guidelines on Nuclear Transfers." mechanism was not used, except for sporadic bilateral
This version was then further discussed with eight new contacts on specific sensitive cases between some suppliers.
members (Belgium, Czechoslovakia, the German In fact, following the adoption of the guidelines in the
Democratic Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, autumn of 1977, the Nuclear Suppliers Group did not meet
Sweden, and Switzerland) that joined the group during for more than thirteen years. Consequently, no change was
1976/1977. The Guidelines were finally accepted by all made in either the guidelines or the NSG Trigger List, even
fifteen members of the Group in September 1977 and though there was an evident need to update and supplement
transmitted to the IAEA Director General in January 1978 the latter. Indeed, the Zangger Committee systematically
to be published the next month as the IAEA's document updated its Trigger List. During these years that List was
INFCIRC/254. refined several times to include equipment for uranium
enrichment by gas centrifuge methods and gaseous
The NSG guidelines incorporated the Zangger Trigger List, diffusion, and for reprocessing. The modified, consolidated
expanding it only slightly, with the notable addition of some Zangger Committee Trigger List was published by the
heavy water production items. They also included the IAEA in late 1990 as INFCIRC/209/Rev 1 and was
requirements for a recipient's assurances of non-explosive considerably more detailed than the NSG list.
use, IAEA safeguards, and control on re-transfer. The major
difference between the Zangger Committee memoranda and
the new NSG guidelines was that the latter went beyond the Relative Inactivity: 1978-1990
context of the NPT (it concerned nuclear transfers to any
non-nuclear weapon State) and made the conditions for There is no single clear reason why the NSG was relatively
nuclear exports more stringent. inactive during the long period from 1978 to 1990. (The
Group was not completely inactive because, despite the fact
The NSG conditions were to be applied to the transfer of that it did not meet, the guidelines were being implemented
nuclear facilities or the technology (including component on a national basis throughout that period of time.) During
parts) supporting them. These facilities included the period in question twelve more states, from both the
1
reprocessing, enrichment, and heavy water production West and the East, subscribed to the guidelines. It should
plants. The NSG guidelines provided for special controls be noted that since its origin, the Nuclear Suppliers Group
on sensitive exports, calling for restraint in the transfer of has assembled states from both sides of the East-West
sensitive facilities, technology, and weapons-usable dividing line with the common objective of
materials. The guidelines also required physical protection nonproliferation. It has never been an organization directed
for nuclear materials and facilities in order to prevent their against either side. Also, during that long period attempts
unauthorized use and handling. Thus, the Guidelines on were made by countries from the West as well as from the
Nuclear Transfers established new, more exacting and more East to reactivate the Group, but these efforts were
effective standards in nuclear exports control. unsuccessful. The Cold War therefore can hardly be held
responsible for the NSG's inactivity during the 1980s.
The guidelines served as a set of principles and rules. It was
left up to each adhering state to act in accordance with them In my opinion, the major cause of the group's inactivity was
and to ensure their implementation through national the unwillingness of some NSG suppliers to move beyond
legislation and enforcement mechanisms. This, of course, the conditions for nuclear exports established in 1977. The
created the possibility that certain differences would arise in motive behind this unwillingness was commercial interest.
interpreting and applying the guidelines nationally. That is An example to support this view is the case of full-scope
why the guidelines also contained provisions which called safeguards. Discussion on the extent of the safeguards that
upon the adhering suppliers to consult on matters connected recipients should be required to agree to as a condition of
with their implementation. The NSG was to meet to discuss nuclear supplies dated back to the early NSG period before
specific cases and violations of supplier-recipient the acceptance of the guidelines. There was no agreement
understandings. These consultations were to be conducted on this point then, and later attempts in the mid-1980s by
through regular or diplomatic channels. some countries to begin a discussion on making full-scope
safeguards a condition of export failed as well. Some
The Guidelines on Nuclear Transfer provided for a suppliers unilaterally adopted the requirement of full-scope

The Nonproliferation Review/Fall 1993

3
safeguards: Canada introduced this requirement in 1976; proliferators tried to evade controls by obtaining dual-use
Australia and Sweden in 1977; the US, Poland, and technology for their unsafeguarded nuclear programs or for
Czechoslovakia in 1978; Japan in 1989; and Germany in the development of weapons. This was being done in a
1990. number of ways, including exploiting suppliers' diverse
national export regulations on dual-use items, concealing
the true end-use, transshipment through third countries, and
The End of the Cold War: Stimulus for Activation even clandestine procurement. There was evidently a
growing gap in the NSG nuclear export arrangements.
While the Cold War itself never constituted a major Increasingly, the suppliers realized this, and towards the end
obstruction to the operation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, of 1990 a common view on the need to tighten up export
the profound qualitative change brought about in the controls of dual-use commodities seemed to be forming. It
relations between Western and Eastern NSG member states was the Gulf War, however, that dramatically revealed the
at the end of the Cold War could not but positively extent of the "dual-use gap" in nuclear export controls. The
influence the Group's activities. An important positive war made the suppliers realize the potential dangers
development was that following the political and socio- involved and the urgent need for action to prevent them.
economic transformations in Russia and in all of the other This, in my view, was a major factor in reviving the Nuclear
Central and Eastern European members of the Group, those Suppliers Group.
countries made a full reaffirmation of their nonproliferation
commitments. Having participated both in the meetings of
the Group in the seventies and then in the nineties, I was The Revival of the NSG and Dual-Use Export Controls
able to witness a radical change in the atmosphere. There
had been a definite "stiffness" and rather frigid formality in Indeed, one may speak about the revival of the NSG at its
London. That stiffness has been replaced by a real spirit of meeting in the Hague in March, 1991 — more than thirteen
constructive cooperation, openness, and reinforced sense of years since it had last gathered in London. All of the 26
common purpose at recent meetings in The Hague, Warsaw, states adhering to the Guidelines on Nuclear Transfers
and Lucerne. (INFCIRC/254) took part in that meeting, chaired by Mr.
Jan Hoekema of the Netherlands. The meeting brought
During the Cold War, the East-West confrontation about the rebirth of the NSG, infused it with a dynamic new
dominated international security concerns. With the end of spirit of cooperation, and set an agenda of pressing export
the Cold War, other problems, notably regional ones that control issues. All decisions were taken by consensus and
involved nuclear proliferation risks, came to the fore. It was reflected a unified will of action and shared sense of
realized that these problems could better be assessed and purpose. The most important step taken was certainly the
jointly approached in the framework of NSG. decision to elaborate a joint NSG arrangement, or regime,
to control exports of nuclear related dual-use materials,
equipment, and technology. A special working group was
The Gulf War and the Dual-Use Gap set up to fulfill this task.

If the fading away of the East-West confrontation made it Another decision called for a swift (and long overdue)
possible to focus more attention on the growing risk of broadening of the NSG control list so as to bring it into
nuclear proliferation, particularly in the regional context, the conformity with the more detailed and more up to date
Gulf War and its aftermath dramatized the awareness of this Zangger Committee list. The importance of enlarging the
risk. There were lessons to be drawn by the NSG members. Group by adding the so-called new supplier states was also
Many of them had exported vast amounts of materials, recognized, and the mandate was given to the host and chair
equipment, and technology (some of which were not of the meeting, the Netherlands, to approach a number of
directly nuclear-related) to Iraq which were used for its those states on behalf of the NSG. The Hague meeting also
formidable nuclear weapons program. set into motion the process of review and consultation
(largely a dead letter of the Guidelines so far) and exchange
The practices of some states bent on acquiring nuclear of information. The Hague decisions established the basis
weapon capability, aimed at circumventing the NSG's for the very substantial progress made by the Group in the
regime of nuclear export control and eroding its following two years.
effectiveness, had been known for some time. Would-be

The Nonproliferation Review/Fall 1993

4
The most important achievement was an arrangement to last NSG plenary meeting in Lucerne (30.03-1.04.1993).
control the exports of nuclear-related dual-use materials, The amended version of the guidelines was published in
equipment, and technology in order to prevent their use in July, 1993 as IAEA INFCIRC 254/Rev 1/Part 1/Mod 1.
unsafeguarded nuclear programs and nuclear explosives
programs. This arrangement was formally adopted by the Both in Warsaw and in Lucerne, the NSG called on all
2
27 NSG members at the plenary meeting in Warsaw (31 nuclear suppliers to adopt the full-scope safeguards policy
March — 3 April, 1992), after a year of intensive requirement. In Lucerne the NSG also promised to
negotiations, held in The Hague, Brussels, Annapolis, and counteract indirect supplies through third countries. Thus,
Interlaken. the long debate — within the NSG and outside it — about
the full-scope safeguards has been successfully resolved,
This arrangement consists of a set of guidelines for transfers resulting in a significant tightening up of the nuclear export
of dual-use items and a list of some 65 items, including control regime.
equipment, materials, and technology. The basic principle
of the guidelines obligates suppliers not to transfer dual-use Not only was the NSG "nuclear" Trigger List expanded to
items on the list if: 1) they are to be used in nuclear harmonize it with the Zangger Committee list (its amended
explosive activities or in an unsafeguarded nuclear fuel version was transmitted to IAEA and published by it in July,
cycle; 2) there is unacceptable risk of their diversion to such 1992 as INFCIRC/254/Rev I/Part l), but work on further
activities; or 3) their transfer would be contrary to the updating the list was undertaken by a special technical
objective of averting the proliferation of nuclear weapons. working group. The working group has now reached
Other important provisions discuss the factors for assessing agreement on such newly proposed clarifications and
recipients' nonproliferation standing and conditions on entries, such as those concerning various enrichment plants
transfers and retransfers (i.e., end-use statements or (aerodynamic, chemical and ion exchange, laser-based,
assurances of non-use for explosive or unsafeguarded plasma separation, electromagnetic), uranium conversion, or
nuclear fuel cycle activity). A third essential element of the coolant pumps as well as definition of sensitive
dual-use arrangement is a Memorandum of Understanding technologies.
which specifies some matters of implementation.

Both the guidelines and the list were sent to the Director The North-South Dynamic and the New Nuclear
General of the IAEA by NSG member-states. At their Suppliers
request, these were published by the Agency in July, 1992
as INFCIRC/254/REV 1/ Part 2. Composed of two parts, The North-South dynamic has always been present in NSG
the revised INFCIRC/254 now describes the regime for activities. As mentioned above, the Group's membership
export control of both nuclear and nuclear related dual-use and export control arrangements from the very beginning
commodities and lists those commodities. Such a transcended the East-West dividing line, and the would-be
comprehensive arrangement results in a more effective and proliferators (with the exception of Israel and South Africa)
coordinated international approach to controlling all exports were traditionally situated in "the South." Hence, of
for nuclear uses. necessity, the NSG export control measures were primarily
aimed at those parts of the world. This, in turn, conditioned
the attitude of some Third World countries toward the
Changes to the Nuclear Transfer Regime Group. They characterized the London "Club" as a cartel
and accused it of discriminatory political and commercial
The new regime became effective on January 1, 1993. At motives and practices. That reputation stayed with NSG for
the same time as it was being established, steps were being a long time and to a considerable extent still persists in
taken to update and tighten up the old system for controlling many quarters.
nuclear transfers. The NSG meeting in Warsaw adopted a
declaration requiring suppliers to demand full-scope Another charge directed at the NSG concerned the
safeguards for all non-nuclear weapons states, before new, "unnecessary" extension of the obligations ensuing from the
significant nuclear exports may be transferred to these NPT and the IAEA safeguards system. Those making this
states. The declaration, published in May, 1992 as IAEA charge tended to overlook the fact that the NSG's activities
INFCIRC/405, was then reflected in an amendment to the were primarily motivated by the objective of preventing
NSG guidelines for nuclear transfers and endorsed at the nuclear proliferation and intended to facilitate nuclear trade

The Nonproliferation Review/Fall 1993

5
by harmonizing nonproliferation conditions for nuclear participation in the Group must be taken. One should keep
exports so as that no supplier would have an unfair in mind China's general support for the nonproliferation
advantage. regime, its accession to the NPT, and its willingness to
engage in a dialogue with the NSG.
The 1980s brought new developments in the field of nuclear
trade. The so-called new suppliers of nuclear material, All in all, the prospects are good for the NSG. The
equipment, and technology emerged from outside the prospects are also good for the scope of its export control
traditional West-East perimeter. While some of them were regime to extend beyond the North-South dividing line.
not parties to the NPT and held a critical view of the NSG, Such a development would have great political as well as
it was interesting to note that as they faced the realities of practical effect, although the problem of certain "Southern"
nuclear exports, most of them demonstrated a sense of suppliers will certainly remain for some time.
responsibility. These new suppliers — Argentina, Brazil,
China, and South Korea, for example — voiced support for
peaceful uses of nuclear energy and principles of The Eastern Problem: The Newly Independent States
nonproliferation.
The problem of new suppliers is not confined to the South.
The emergence of new supplier states confronted the NSG Despite the unprecedented positive change in East-West
with the crucial problem of attracting them to and ultimately relations, an "Eastern" problem (or, as some call it,
integrating them into the Group. The problem is crucial challenge) has arisen for the NSG. The same profound
because it has a direct bearing on the effectiveness of export transformations in the Eastern countries that brought about
control and the nonproliferation regime. It is difficult this positive change also resulted in the emergence of newly
because of the need to reconcile high export control independent states on the territory of the former Soviet
standards with an enlargement process. Union, some of them with nuclear activities and export
capabilities. These states, however, were no longer bound
The NSG, as already mentioned, faced this problem by NSG commitments nor by any other nuclear
squarely beginning at its first post-Cold War meeting in The nonproliferation agreements or arrangements. The Nuclear
Hague. That meeting as well as the two subsequent ones in Suppliers Group could not ignore this situation, and it
Warsaw (1992) and Lucerne (1993) invited new supplier became a major topic of the Group's 1992 plenary meeting
countries to adhere to the NSG Guidelines in the hope that in Warsaw. The meeting launched a special appeal to the
this would significantly enhance the nonproliferation newly independent states to accede to the NPT as non-
regime. Soon after The Hague meeting, a dialogue aimed at nuclear weapon states, to adopt IAEA full-scope safeguards,
attracting new suppliers to the NSG was started by the and to implement effective nuclear export controls through
Netherlands on behalf of the Group, with a number of states adherence to NSG guidelines. The presence of Ukraine as
considered to be important and most likely to adhere to the an observer at the meeting, which was welcomed by
guidelines. The dialogue was continued by the NSG's participants, seemed to indicate a reciprocal interest in the
Polish chairman following the Warsaw meeting and has Group's activities by that country, as did the message sent to
now been entrusted in Lucerne to the new Swiss Chairman, the meeting by Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister.
Professor Alec Baer, who will be assisted by some member
states. Correspondingly, several NSG members have made Having considered the matter in some detail, the meeting's
individual contacts with these states. Positive results of participants outlined a policy to be followed by NSG
these discussions have already been seen. On December 2, members with regard to the non-member states of the CIS.
1992, Argentina formally adhered to both the nuclear and Its main elements are:
dual-use NSG Guidelines. In recognition of this fact, as a. consideration of those states as non-nuclear weapon
well as its general non-proliferation stand and policies, states in the application of the NSG guidelines on nuclear
Argentina was invited to participate in the NSG plenary transfers as well as on transfers of dual-use items;
meeting at Lucerne as an observer. Argentine membership b. agreement on a short, transitional period for
in the Group is now imminent. Prospects also seem to be continuation of supplies to those states pending their
reasonably good for Brazil and South Korea to join the acceptance of the necessary NSG requirements (notably
NSG, and even better for South Africa. full-scope safeguards), primarily for safety reasons;
c. efforts to be exerted to make those states adopt non-
In the case of China, a somewhat more long-term view of its nuclear weapon state status and to integrate them in the

The Nonproliferation Review/Fall 1993

6
nonproliferation regime and the NSG in particular. organizations operating in this field, the International
Atomic Energy Agency and the Zangger Committee.
With regard to the last point, a special mandate was given to
the NSG Chairman to actively approach the States in The IAEA has provided the principal formal channel for the
question (particularly those with relevant nuclear NSG to communicate its export control arrangements to the
capabilities) and encourage their accession to the Group. outside world. Both the Guidelines on Nuclear Transfers of
The effect of these contacts is not yet evident. While a 1978, later amendments to them, and guidelines on the
general interest in and intention of joining the NSG has transfers of nuclear-related dual-use items of 1992 have
3
been expressed by countries like Kazakhstan, Belarus, and been published as IAEA documents. This has been done,
Ukraine, the latter at some point coming very close to each time, at the request of every individual NSG member
applying for membership, several factors have prevented state and not the Group as an organization. Subsequent
this from happening. In the case of Ukraine, one factor has adherence of new states to the guidelines as well as
been the well-known wider internal political discussion on individual governments' reservations or communications of
the country's nuclear problems and status, which has also special conditions in implementing the guidelines have also
influenced the position of Kazakhstan. In all of these states been reported in the same way: the Director General of
(as well as Lithuania), there have been differences of IAEA is informed and the communication is then published
opinion about the importance of the NSG's role and under the same INFCIRC number.
activities between the nuclear sector and the decision
making politicians, difficulties in accepting IAEA Another connection with the IAEA has been the NSG
safeguards (Lithuania being a positive exception here), and requirement that Agency safeguards be made a condition of
the lack of adequate legislation and an adequate system for nuclear exports. The initial requirement was that safeguards
controlling trade in nuclear-related goods. be placed on the exported items and the material produced
through their use; later, in 1992, the requirement was
So the problem remains, its significance and urgency having extended, with safeguards required on all nuclear activity in
been recognized again at this year's NSG plenary meeting in the recipient States. Here again, there has been no direct
Lucerne; the call for the newly independent states to accede official communication between NSG and the Agency; it is
to the NPT, adopt full-scope safeguards, and carry out up to every supplier to ensure that all recipients fulfill this
effective nuclear export controls was renewed, and efforts requirement. However, the IAEA safeguards system was
aimed at attracting them to the NSG will continue. The repeatedly discussed at NSG meetings, its importance being
problem clearly is of major importance not only for the reaffirmed as a crucial element for ensuring the peaceful
NSG but for the future of the nonproliferation regime as uses of nuclear energy. At the 1992 plenary meeting in
well. Though treated here as an "eastern" problem, it has Warsaw the NSG, in a special declaration, supported the
evident ramifications in the "South," as a number of CIS effort within the IAEA to establish a system of enhanced
States actually belong in many ways to that half on the reporting on the transfers of nuclear material, relevant
world. equipment, and certain non-nuclear material as a way to
strengthen the safeguards.

The NSG, the IAEA, and the Zangger Committee A new link between the activities of the NSG and the IAEA
was created in February 1993 when the latter's Board of
Although the Nuclear Suppliers Group is a separate, Governors approved the enhanced reporting system, now
"independent" body not formally based on the NPT, it called Universal Reporting, to encompass (albeit on a
constitutes an essential part of the nuclear nonproliferation voluntary basis) both the information on the above
regime. The fact that it is not formally bound by the NPT mentioned transfers and possibly on the production of
has made it possible for states not party to that Treaty to nuclear materials. The items whose transfer is to be reported
adhere to NSG guidelines and, in addition, has allowed the are those on the NSG Trigger List, contained in
NSG to establish export control norms that are more strict INFCIRC/254/Rev 1/Part 1.
and cover a broader array of items than those based on the
NPT. There has certainly been cooperation between the NSG and
the Zangger Committee, although it has not been formal
The NSG's nuclear nonproliferation objective naturally cooperation. The link has been facilitated by increasingly
brings it into relationship with two other international similar membership of the two bodies; in fact, the

The Nonproliferation Review/Fall 1993

7
membership has recently become identical. The Chairman fears were expressed that different procedures used by states
and the Secretary of the Zangger Committee have to adhere to the two sets of guidelines (under the London
participated regularly in NSG meetings since 1991, Guidelines it was sufficient to send a communication of
although they have done so as delegates of their respective adherence to the Director General of IAEA) might result in
countries and not as officials of the Committee. a different membership of the NSG as a whole and the dual-
use regime, even creating some risk of a split. To prevent
The similarity in the tasks of these two suppliers such an eventuality, to bring about a harmonization of the
organizations and their identical membership have led to NSG and dual-use regimes' membership, and to provide
speculation about the necessity of maintaining two separate some basis for the Group's effective operation, a procedural
groups. Suggestions have even arisen about discontinuing arrangement for the Nuclear Suppliers Group was
one of the groups or combining the two. However, after elaborated by a working group and adopted at the Lucerne
some discussion — mostly in the Zangger Committee — it meeting.
has been agreed to maintain both groups separately, at least
for some time. An important reason for doing so is to keep The arrangement confirms the present NSG membership of
4
an option for new suppliers to join either organization. 28 countries that fully participated in the Lucerne meeting
and establishes the procedure for joining the regime. This
The NSG has no formal connections with the MTCR or the procedure calls for the NSG members to reach a consensus
Australia Group and there seems to be no pressing need for about the invitation of a new state, and requires the new
them at present. It is true that all Western members of the state to accept the NSG guidelines in their entirety (i.e., both
NSG belong to one or both of these other nonproliferation Parts 1 and 2 of INFCIRC/254/Rev. l). A communication
groups. The organizational and procedural set-up of those of adherence sent to the IAEA will therefore no longer
groups have often been compared to NSG arrangements or suffice. Countries adhering only to the "nuclear" part of the
cited as a possible example for the NSG to follow. guidelines, i.e. Part l of INFCIRC/254/Rev. 1 may be
granted the right to attend the meetings, although they may
not participate fully, before their adherence to Part 2. Also,
The Dual-Use Regime within the NSG the invitation of observers, whether they are countries or
international organizations, requires the members'
Indeed, one can see that this set-up has actually influenced consensus.
the recent operations of the NSG. For example, a
permanent Point-of-Contact was established for The arrangement also provides for an annual plenary
administering the dual-use regime, as one had been for meeting as the main forum for discussion of proliferation
administering the MTCR. At the NSG meeting in Warsaw, concerns and decision-making and reaffirms the rule of
this task was entrusted to the Japanese Mission to the IAEA consensus. The next plenary meetings are to be held in
in Vienna. This Point-of-Contact (POC) is responsible for Madrid in 1994 and in Helsinki in 1995.
channeling information exchanges among states subscribing
to the regime, preparing and organizing meetings, An important role is accorded to the chairmanship of the
coordinating various consultations, and maintaining the Group, held on a rotational basis for one year by the host
necessary records. These and other mandatory functions country of the annual plenary meeting. In addition to
reflect the nature, scope, and envisaged intensity of the presiding over meetings, setting their agendas, and handling
dual-use regime's activities, particularly its mechanisms for organizational details, the chair is vested with some inter-
consultation and exchange of information. With a Point-of- sessional duties, such as approaching prospective member
Contact and a Chairman of its own, as well as a separate states, communicating with the IAEA, initiating
internal arrangement for admitting members, the dual-use consultations, and coordinating actions resulting from them.
export control regime forms a distinct and "autonomous"
part of the NSG.
Sharing Information

New Procedural Arrangements For the effective operation of the nuclear-related export
control regime, which is implemented by NSG members on
At some point after the dual-use regime was adopted, this a national basis, the exchange or communication of relevant
"autonomy" was seen as a problem. In particular, some information is essential. This is particularly true for the

The Nonproliferation Review/Fall 1993

8
dual-use regime, which covers a wide range of commodities
having different end uses. While the basic documents of Capacity to Learn and to Change
both parts of the regime contain provisions covering
consultations or information exchange, these provisions are All the developments that have occurred within the NSG
more specific for the dual-use regime. since 1991 clearly prove the Group's capacity to learn and
to change. The NSG member states have made a serious
Reference was made earlier in this paper to devious effort to increase the effectiveness of the nuclear-related
practices used by countries of proliferation concern to export control regime. This effort was prompted by the
obtain dual-use goods and technologies for unsafeguarded post-Cold War international environment, the effects of the
and/or non-peaceful nuclear use. To prevent those practices Gulf War, and by growing risks of nuclear proliferation.
effectively, supplier states need to know the ways in which Changes in the regime include a substantial expansion of its
these techniques are used, and the whereabouts of the scope, procedures to tighten it up, attempts to involve new
perpetrators. Some of this information can be obtained suppliers, and the creation of a working review and
from public sources such as publications and data bases implementation mechanism. The adoption of the dual-use
maintained by specialized research organizations. export control arrangement has certainly been the most
However, sensitive government-to-government information, significant result of this effort.
which must often be gathered by intelligence services, plays
a major role. Regular exchanges of this kind of information If there was a period of several years when the NSG lagged
are especially important to countries with limited behind other nonproliferation bodies such as the Australia
independent intelligence capabilities. Information on steps Group, the MTCR, or even the Zangger Committee, that
taken by governments in the implementation of export period definitely belongs to the past. As the largest and
controls, such as denials of supply, must also be shared. most heterogenous among these bodies, the NSG now
This information, by its very nature, must be confidential as stands on a par with them in actively facing proliferation
well. dangers and trying to counteract them. In so doing, the
NSG responds to developments in other international
NSG members fully realize the need to continually improve organizations, whether directly (as when supporting the
the methods for sharing information, so that the scope of creation of an IAEA system of universal reporting or
information is broadened and the speed and efficiency of harmonizing its Trigger List with the Zangger Committee)
communication is improved. Computerized information or obliquely (e.g., adapting some features of other regimes
systems are seen as a desirable component in this process. in the dual-use arrangement).
Improvements are actively pursued by the Group.

Challenges for the Future: Suppliers and Recipients

Public Outreach
There is no doubt that in the course of the past two and a
Although confidentiality is essential to NSG activities, there half years the Nuclear Suppliers Group has accomplished
is room for increased public knowledge about the Group. many things. It has become a different organization — a
Greater public outreach could dispel some persisting living one.
misgivings about its operations and properly accentuate the
importance of both its nonproliferation objective and its role Two major challenges now face the NSG. The first one is
as a facilitator of nuclear-related commerce for peaceful the phenomenon of suppliers who, if they are not somehow
uses. Some steps have already been taken to this effect. bound by NSG export control norms, might undermine the
Starting at the meeting in The Hague, the NSG has regularly effectiveness of these norms and of the non-proliferation
issued press releases to inform the general public of the regime. The other challenge comes from countries of
range of issues discussed at its meetings, as well as proliferation concern, which have shown considerable
measures contemplated and adopted. Such releases "ingenuity" in seeking nuclear-related equipment and
emphasize the group's fundamental objective, which is to technology for non-peaceful nuclear uses. Meeting these
ensure that cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy principal challenges, in my view, will set the agenda for the
does not, in any way, further the proliferation of nuclear NSG for the years to come.
weapons.
The course for attracting and incorporating new supplier

The Nonproliferation Review/Fall 1993

9
states to the Group has been set and is being pursued. The preventing the non-member supplier countries from
prospects for its success have been assessed as reasonably undermining the NSG nuclear related export control regime,
good with respect to some countries and less certain for which might include using the leverage of restrictive trade
others. Entry of any developing or "Southern" country into measures. Thwarting the often devious practices of would-
the group will enhance the NSG's international standing as a be proliferators might call for making the conditions of
bona fide nonproliferation organization. supply even stricter and moving toward more probing
evaluation of recipients' real nonproliferation standing and
On the other hand, the NSG might make a case for intentions. Some communication between the NSG and
international verification activities (by the IAEA or the UN
Security Council) may also be considered. To cope with all
of its pressing tasks, the Group will have to develop and
operate an effective mechanism for information sharing and
consultations. Some information exchange with other
nonproliferation groups or with the IAEA may become
necessary.

In sum, since the importance of nonproliferation in the

coming years is bound to grow and become a greater
priority in the policy of many states, notably NSG members,
the role and effectiveness of this Group in preventing
nuclear proliferation will be enhanced.

Notes
1. Australia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain.

2. Austria joined to the Group at the end of 1991.

3. Belarus acceded to the NPT in July 1993.

4. The other members are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia became new members at the meeting.

The Nonproliferation Review/Fall 1993

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