Why in the News?
Protests erupted over Microsoft after allegations that its cloud services (Azure) are aiding Israeli military operations, harming Palestinian civilians, raising concerns under the Wassenaar Arrangement.
What is Wassenaar Arrangement?
- Establishment: Created in 1996 as a successor to the Cold War-era COCOM (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls).
- Name Origin: Named after Wassenaar, a suburb of The Hague, where the agreement was reached in 1995.
- Headquarters: Vienna, Austria.
- Membership: 42 countries; India joined in 2017. Includes most NATO/EU states and all UNSC P5 except China.
- Objective: Promote transparency, responsibility, and control in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use technologies.
- Mechanism: Works through voluntary information-sharing, export license denials, and notifications on controlled transfers.
- Control Lists:
- Munitions List: Covers conventional arms including tanks, combat aircraft, UAVs, helicopters, missiles, small arms.
- Dual-Use List: Covers sensitive technologies and equipment with both civilian and military applications.
Wassenaar Arrangement and Software:
- Initial Scope: Designed for hardware exports (equipment, chips, devices).
- 2013 Expansion: Included “intrusion software” that can bypass or defeat cyber protections.
- Challenges:
- Cloud/SaaS blurs what counts as an “export.”
- Inconsistent interpretations among members for software transfer and access.
- Grey areas: defensive research exemptions, cross-border data flows, and digital surveillance.
- Gap: Rapid rise of AI, cloud computing, and biometrics has outpaced WA’s traditional framework.
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Reform Needs:
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- Broaden lists to explicitly cover cloud, AI, surveillance, and biometric systems.
- Recognize remote access as exports.
- Establish technical committees for frequent updates and agile controls.
Wassenaar Arrangement and India:
- Membership (2017): Enhanced India’s profile in non-proliferation and arms control, bolstering its case for entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
- Export Controls: Aligns India’s SCOMET list (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies) with global norms.
- Technology Access: Opens pathways to sensitive dual-use technologies vital for space, defence, and digital industries.
- Diplomacy: Supports India’s counter-terrorism efforts, including the No Money for Terrorism (NMFT) initiative.
| [UPSC 2011] Recently, the USA decided to support India’s membership in multilateral export control regimes called the “Australia Group” and the “Wassenaar Arrangement”. What is the difference between them?
1. The Australia Group is an informal arrangement which aims to allow exporting countries to minimize the risk of assisting chemical and biological weapons proliferation, whereas the Wassenaar- Arrangement is a formal group under the OECD holding identical objectives. 2. The Australia Group comprises predominantly of Asian, African, and North American countries, whereas the member countries of Wassenaar Arrangement are predominantly from the European Union and American continents. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? Options: (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 * |
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