3.2.3. The Australia Group (AG)

♤ The Australia Group is an informal group of countries (now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help member countries to identify those exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons.

♤ With the incorporation of India in January 2018, it now has 43 members.

♤ Delegations representing the members meet every year in Paris, France.

♤ Members of the group maintain export controls on a uniform list of 54 compounds, including several that are not prohibited for export under the Chemical Weapons Convention (1993), but can be used in the manufacture of chemical weapons.

♤ In 2002, the group took two important steps to strengthen export control.

♤ The first was the "no-undercut" requirement, which stated that any member of the group considering making an export to another state that had already been denied an export by any other member of the group must first consult with that member state before approving the export.

♤ The second was the "catch-all" provision, which requires member states to halt all exports that could be used by importers in chemical or biological weapons programs, regardless of whether the export is on the group's control lists