Background information on relevant policy and national legislation

In the arms control arena, which supplements the efforts made by the international community on the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, Israel actively participates in the international negotiations on the enlargement of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons to deal with the humanitarian problems caused by the indiscriminate and irresponsible use of certain conventional weapons as it did on anti-personnel landmines, blinding lasers, advanced vertical launch systems, explosive remnants of war and other munitions, including cluster munitions in all its aspects. Israel, being a party to the Convention, also maintains its unilateral moratorium on all sales, exports and transfers of any anti-personnel landmines (in force until July 2011, with a view to prolong it for another three years until July 2014). Israel also participates in the preparatory consultations that will lead to the negotiations of a future arms trade treaty in 2012. Israel views the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, in all its aspects, and their use by unauthorized recipients, including terrorists, as an imminent threat to security and stability, which affects and harms civilian populations and societies. Such illicit trade also negatively affects development and post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation. In this regard, Israel took part in the negotiations of the Open-ended Working Group under the Programme of Action on Small Arms on Tracing Illicit small arms and light weapons and follows the operational guidelines of the international instrument adopted by the General Assembly in December 2005, to enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms and light weapons. Israel has also called, inter alia within the context of an arms trade treaty, for the creation of a clear and comprehensive norm which would prohibit the transfer of arms to terrorists. In 2007 Israel upgraded its legal instruments governing national defence export controls by enacting a new Defence Export Control Act. Among other changes to existing legislation, the new Defence Export Control Act adopts the Wassenaar Arrangement control lists, upgrades and formalizes the consultation process between relevant authorities (Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour) and enforcement mechanisms. Israel’s competent authorities continue to outreach the defence industries to assimilate knowledge of the relevant regulations of the law. In addition to the legislative developments, a Defence Export Control Division has been established within the Ministry of Defence and a Defence Export Control Department within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consolidating and strengthening the existing export control units. Pursuant to its comprehensive export control legislation and regulations, Israel controls very closely transfers of arms, military technology, related services and dual use items. In view of the specific threat, and following the principles of the Wassenaar Arrangement, Israel closely controls the man-portable air defence system (MANPADS) in all its aspects (as adopted by the Wassenaar Arrangement Plenary in December 2003). Furthermore, Israel’s conventional arms transfers policy puts several major restrictions and prohibitions on arms transfers, including on small arms and light weapons and their munitions. Restrictions and prohibitions are applied in decisions to approve or deny marketing and export licences. These include, inter alia, considerations such as restrictions deriving from compliance with relevant arms control treaties and from Israel’s adherence to export control regimes, compliance with Security Council resolutions, prohibitions on export to non-State actors, as well as to subversive and underground groups and to places where there is imminent risk that arms might be internally diverted, illicitly proliferated and retransferred or fall into the hands of

• Departure of equipment from the exporter's territory
• Arrival of equipment in the importer's territory