Washington Declaration for PSI 5th Anniversary Senior-Level Meeting

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a multinational activity directed at preventing the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their means of delivery, and related materials to and from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern. It is a partnership of states working together to develop a broad range of legal, diplomatic, economic, military, law enforcement, and other tools to interdict shipments of WMD-related items of proliferation concern.

The PSI participating states met in Washington, DC, on May 28, 2008 to mark the fifth anniversary of the Initiative, announced on May 31, 2003, in Krakow, Poland. They gathered to assess the PSI and discuss new ideas for strengthening international cooperation to stop WMD proliferation-related trafficking. They also took note of the previous senior-level meetings in 2004 and 2006 that helped in building support for PSI objectives.

The 91 PSI participating states have endorsed the September 4, 2003 PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles, also known as the “Paris Principles”. Today, the PSI participating states recommit to and reaffirm the value of implementing those Principles.

The PSI participating states recognize the challenges posed by proliferators seeking to develop WMD and their means of delivery in violation of international regimes and national and international law, as well as by those who facilitate WMD proliferation. The PSI participating states are determined to identify and disrupt proliferation networks that circumvent export controls and regulatory systems, and take advantage of the conveniences of the global trading system to engage in proliferation-related activities. The PSI participating states reaffirm that their actions to stop the trafficking of WMD, their means of delivery, and related materials shall be consistent with national legal authorities and relevant international laws and frameworks.

The PSI participating states will continue to focus their efforts on preventing the movement of cargoes of WMD proliferation concern, including through cooperation with industry, and ultimately to seize such cargoes and dispose of them in a secure manner. They are committed to the timely and accurate exchange of information between relevant PSI partners concerning suspected proliferation activity.

To achieve the above objectives, the PSI participating states will dedicate appropriate efforts to strengthen their own national capabilities to conduct interdictions and their interagency coordination mechanisms to support interdiction-related decision-making. They recommit to engage in practical cooperation on interdiction, based on sovereign decisions. They will work together to seek solutions to outstanding legal questions, such as the disposition of detained cargo, that may result from interdiction actions.

The PSI participating states will continue their efforts to strengthen interdiction capabilities needed to prevent and stop WMD proliferation effectively, including through participation in PSI-related exercises and other activities, through strengthening export controls in states of origin, and through strengthening transshipment controls. They will also strengthen their operational cooperation, with special emphasis on the regional dimension, to identify and address region-specific proliferation challenges. They will work together to distribute general information on PSI and capacity-building knowledge in the counterproliferation area as widely as possible among all PSI participating states.

The PSI participating states are committed to the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 and note that participation in the PSI is one effective way to fulfill operational paragraph 10 of UNSCR 1540. They are ready to assist in implementing this resolution’s requirements, including its requirement to take and enforce effective measures to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons and their means of delivery, and in continuing to assist in building national capacity.

The PSI participating states recognize their responsibility, as states actively committed to the fight against WMD proliferation, to implement fully and effectively the relevant UN Security Council resolutions intended to stop WMD proliferation. The PSI participating states appreciate these resolutions’ role in strengthening the international legal framework against WMD proliferation.

Recalling their commitment made in the PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles to work to strengthen when necessary relevant international law and frameworks in appropriate ways, the PSI participating states note additional results achieved:

• The provisions on preventing and stopping WMD-related proliferation contained in the Protocol of 2005 to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA). States that have signed the 2005 SUA Protocol are encouraged to work toward ratifying it.

• The efforts of the International Civil Aviation Organization to consider criminalizing the illicit international transport by air of WMD, their means of delivery, and related materials, so as to prevent and impede WMD proliferation-related trafficking by air.

• The work being done by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to develop ways to prevent the financing of proliferation activities. The PSI participating states will take into consideration guidance issued by the FATF relevant to the PSI.

The PSI participating states encourage endorsement of the Statement of Interdiction Principles and participation in the PSI by all states that are committed to preventing the proliferation of WMD, their means of delivery, and related materials.

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