§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on licensing arms exports to the states of the former Yugoslavia. [11993]
§ Sir Nicholas Bonsor[holding answer 26 January 1996]: UN Security Council resolution 1021 established a timetable for phased lifting of the arms embargo on former Yugoslavia. Light weapons can be imported 90 days after signature of the peace agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina—that is, from 13 March—and the embargo will be lifted completely 180 days after signature and after submission of a report from the UN Secretary General on the arms control negotiations called for in the peace agreement—that is from 11 June. The Government have decided that, taking into account the overall situation in the states of the former Yugoslavia and the paramount importance of ensuring the safety of British and other troops deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, applications for arms export licences will be dealt with on the following basis:
- (a) for Slovenia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, applications for licences to export military equipment listed in group 1 of part III of schedule I to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 and dual-use goods will be considered on a case by case basis;
- (b) for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia our policy is not to allow the export of military equipment listed in group 1 of part III of schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order of 1994 during the period of the NATO-led implementation force's deployment. Against the background, applications for export licences will continue to be considered on a case by case basis, as will applications for export of dual-use goods.
The Government will encourage our EU and other partners to take a similar approach, and keep this policy under review, particularly in the light of progress in implementing the peace agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina.