Foreign Military Sales: Changes Needed to Correct Weaknesses in End-Use Monitoring Program
Abstract
In 1996, the Arms Export Control Act was amended to require the establishment of an end-use monitoring program for defense articles sold, leased, or exported under the act and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, including articles transferred through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The amendment requires that, to the extent practicable, the end-use monitoring program provide reasonable assurance that the recipient is complying with U.S. government requirements on the use, transfer, and security of defense articles and services. The act prescribes specific purposes for which U.S. defense articles and services may be used, such as for internal security or legitimate self-defense, and also requires the recipient to obtain U.S. consent before transferring U.S. defense articles and services to other parties. The amendment also requires that, to the extent practicable, the monitoring program provide for the end-use monitoring of defense articles and services in accordance with the State Department's "Blue Lantern" standards. The State Department developed and published these standards to identify high-risk defense articles and services exported directly by U.S. defense companies for regular end-use monitoring. In addition, the amendment requires an annual report to Congress on the actions taken to implement the end-use monitoring program. The report is to include detailed accounting of costs and number of personnel associated with the program.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA381378
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office