Australia Group (AG)
History and Present Status
Australia formed the Australia Group, in 1984 as
a result of chemical weapons use in the Iran-Iraq
War. Members meet annually in Paris, where the 1925
Geneva Protocol is deposited. The Group's actions
are viewed as complementary measures in support
of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, the 1972 Biological
and Toxins Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical
Weapons Convention. The Group is an informal and
voluntary arrangement, which controls the export
of a wide range of chemical products, biological
agents and "dual-use" equipment, which
can be used in the development of chemical and biological
weapons. The Group has created lists of both items
whose export should be controlled, as well as "warning"
lists of items whose purchase can be indicative
of proliferation activities. With no formal charter
or constitution, the Australia Group works by consensus.
The Group's meetings focus on sharing information
about national export controls, considering proposals
for "harmonisation" - the adoption of
common controls by all members on chemical precursors,
equipment, biological weapons related materials
and considering other measures to address the proliferation
and use of chemical and biological weapons.
OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND COOPERATING ORGANISATIONS
Defence
Trade & Industry
Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of
Mass Destruction
Representatives of South African industry
RELEVANT TREATIES/PROTOCOLS
Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War
of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases and of
Bacteriological Methods of Warfare (The Geneva Protocol
of 1925)
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)
The Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention (BWC)
MEMBER STATES
There are 30 countries that are currently members
of the Australia Group.
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada,
The Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, South
Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom,
United States and the European Community Commission
(Observer)
GENERAL COMMENTS
South Africa is not a member of the Australia Group.
