[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 135 (Friday, July 12, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36624-36626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17753]


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[[Page 36625]]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
22 CFR Part 126
[Public Notice 2410]

Amendment to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations
AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of State is amending the International Traffic 
in Arms Regulation (ITAR) (22 CFR parts 120-130) to reflect that it is 
no longer the policy of the United States to deny licenses, other 
approvals, exports and imports of defense articles and defense 
services, destined for or originating in the states of the former 
Yugoslavia with the exception of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 
(Serbia and Montenegro). This includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, 
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Slovenia. With respect 
to those countries no longer on the proscribed list, all requests for 
licenses or other approvals involving items covered by the U.S. 
Munitions List (22 CFR part 121) will be reviewed on a case-by-case 
basis. The Yugoslavia licenses and approvals suspended by the Federal 
Register notice of July 19, 1991 (58 FR 33322) continue to remain 
suspended. Exports or other transfers of affected items may only take 
place pursuant to new licenses or other approvals.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This amendment is effective July 12, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rene BeBeau, Office of Arms Transfer and Export Control Policy, Bureau 
of Political-Military Affairs, Department of State (202-647-4231).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Upon the initialling of the Dayton accords, 
the UN Security Council (UNSC) on November 22, 1995, adopted Resolution 
1021, providing for a phased lifting of the UNSC arms embargo on all 
the successor states of former Yugoslavia. With the signing of the 
peace agreement on December 14, 1995, by the Republic of Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of 
Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), and the submission of a report on 
the signing by the UN Secretary General (``signing report'') on the 
same date, the timeline for the phased lifting began.
    UNSC Resolution 1021 provided that during the first 90 days from 
the day the Secretary-General submitted the signing report, all the 
provisions of the embargo under UNSC Resolution 713 remained in place. 
For the second ninety days following the submission of the signing 
report, all provisions of the arms embargo were terminated, except that 
delivery of heavy weapons (as defined in the peace agreement), 
ammunition therefor, mines, military aircraft and helicopters continued 
to be prohibited until the arms control agreement referred to in Annex 
1B of the Dayton accords had taken effect. After the 180th day 
following the submission of the signing report, and after the 
Secretary-General submitted an additional report (on the implementation 
of Annex 1B), all provisions of the UNSC arms embargo terminated.
    The Secretary-General submitted the report on the implementation of 
Annex 1B (Agreement on Regional Stabilization) on June 14, 1996. June 
14 is thus the day upon which the UNSC arms embargo on the states of 
the former Yugoslavia, imposed by the Security Council in Resolution 
713, terminated.
    Section 126.1(c) of the ITAR states that whenever the UN Security 
Council mandates an arms embargo, all transactions which are prohibited 
by the embargo and which involve U.S. persons anywhere, or any person 
in the United States, and defense articles and services of a type 
enumerated on the United States Munitions List, irrespective of origin, 
are prohibited under the ITAR for the duration of the embargo, unless 
the Department of State publishes a Federal Register notice specifying 
different measures. Notice of the policy of denial and suspension with 
regard to the states of former Yugoslavia was published in the Federal 
Register on July 19, 1991 (58 FR 33322).
    The lifting at this time of the policy of denial with respect to 
states of former Yugoslavia other than the FRY (Serbia and Montenegro), 
and corresponding amendment to the relevant portion of Sec. 126.1(a) of 
the ITAR, is consistent with developments in the region and is in 
furtherance of our national security and foreign policy objectives.
    The Federal Register notice of July 19, 1991, may not, however, 
cease to be effective with respect to the FRY (Serbia and Montenegro) 
without a certification to Congress by the President pursuant to 
Section 540A of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related 
Programs Appropriations Act, 1996, Pub. L. 104-107. No such 
certification has been made.
    Licenses and approvals subject to the new policy on the states of 
the former Yugoslavia other than the FRY (Serbia and Montenegro) 
include manufacturing licenses, technical assistance agreements, 
technical data, and commercial defense article and defense service 
exports and other transfers of any kind involving these countries under 
the authority of the Arms Export Control Act and the International 
Traffic in Arms Regulations.
    This amendment to the ITAR involves a foreign affairs function of 
the United States and thus is excluded from the major rule procedures 
of Executive Order 12291 (46 FR 13193) and the procedures of 5 U.S.C. 
553 and 554. This final rule does not contain a new or amended 
information requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 126
    Arms and munitions, Exports.

    Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the preamble, and under 
the authority of Section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 
2778) and Executive Order 11958, as amended, 22 CFR Subchapter M is 
amended as follows:
PART 126--[AMENDED]
    1. The authority citation for part 126 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Secs. 2, 38, 40, 42, and 71, Arms Export Control Act, 
Pub. L. 90-629, 90 Stat. 744 (22 U.S.C. 2752, 2778, 2780, 2791, and 
2797); E.O. 11958, 41 FR 4311; E.O. 11322, 32 FR 119; 22 U.S.C. 
2658; 22 U.S.C. 287c; E.O. 12918, 59 FR 28205.
Sec. 126.1  [Amended]

    2. Section 126.1(a) is amended and revised by removing ``the states 
of the former Yugoslavia'' and replacing it with ``the FRY (Serbia and 
Montenegro),'' so that as revised, paragraph (a) reads as follows:
    (a) General. It is the policy of the United States to deny 
licenses, other approvals, exports and imports of defense articles and 
defense services, destined for or originating in certain countries. 
This policy applies to Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cuba, 
Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, 
North Korea, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and 
Vietnam. This policy also applies to countries with respect to which 
the United States maintains an arms embargo (e.g. Burma, China, the 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Haiti, Liberia, 
Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Zaire) or whenever an export would not 
otherwise be in furtherance of world peace and the security and foreign 
policy of the United States. Comprehensive arms embargoes are normally 
the subject of a State Department notice published in the Federal 
Register. The exemptions provided in the regulations in this

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subchapter, except Secs. 123.17 and 125.4(b)(13) of this subchapter, do 
not apply with respect to articles originating in or for export to any 
proscribed countries or areas. With regard to Sec. 123.27 the exemption 
does not apply with respect to articles originating in or for export to 
countries prohibited by a United Nations Security Council Resolution or 
to which the export (or for which the issuance of a license for the 
export) would be prohibited by a U.S. statute (e.g. by Section 40 of 
the Arms Export Control Act, 22 U.S.C. 2780, to countries that have 
been determined to have repeatedly provided support for acts of 
international terrorism, i.e., Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, 
Sudan and Syria).
* * * * *
    Dated: June 28, 1996.
Lynn E. Davis,
Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.
[FR Doc. 96-17753 Filed 7-11-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-25-M