§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking via United Kingdom embassies, including Defence Attachés, and otherwise, to gather and collate information on falsified end-user certificates in connection with the illicit supply of small arms, light weapons and ammunition. [HL1441]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanEstablishing bona fide end-user details provided in support of licence applications is an important element of the UK system of export controls. Where the Government have a suspicion about the authenticity of an end-user certificate, further inquiries are made and these may be carried out through our embassies. Information about falsified end-user certificates is exchanged bilaterally and through international fora such as the EU or UN.
The UK has an on-going programme of providing assistance to countries that do not have the necessary resources to properly check end-user details.