End user certificate
Encyclopedia
An End-user certificate, or EUC, is a document used in international transfers, including sales and arms provided as aid, of weapons and ammunition
to certify that the buyer is the final recipient of the materials, and is not planning on transferring the materials to another party. EUCs are required by many governments to restrict the flow of the materials to undesired destinations, such as embargo
ed states or rebel groups, governments with bad human rights records or states which are considered a threat by the original supplier of the arms.
There are several problems with EUCs as a means to prevent undesirable arms exports. EUCs can be forged or falsified; they can also be obtained from corrupt officials. Therefore there is a need for EUCs that are difficult to forge. Another problem is that an EUC does not guarantee that the arms recipient will actually live up to its promise not to re-transfer the weapons received. EUCs which are not backed up by proper end-use monitoring are weak. Finally, arms dealers can resort to smuggling arms; for example by labeling them as or hiding them between commercial merchandise.
In 1936-1938, German arms were supplied to both sides in the Spanish Civil War
via Greece using Greek then Mexican end-user certificates, see Pyrkal
. In Frederick Forsyth
's 1974 novel The Dogs of War arms are obtained with end-user certificates from corrupt officials.
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
to certify that the buyer is the final recipient of the materials, and is not planning on transferring the materials to another party. EUCs are required by many governments to restrict the flow of the materials to undesired destinations, such as embargo
Embargo
An embargo is the partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order to isolate it. Embargoes are considered strong diplomatic measures imposed in an effort, by the imposing country, to elicit a given national-interest result from the country on which it is...
ed states or rebel groups, governments with bad human rights records or states which are considered a threat by the original supplier of the arms.
There are several problems with EUCs as a means to prevent undesirable arms exports. EUCs can be forged or falsified; they can also be obtained from corrupt officials. Therefore there is a need for EUCs that are difficult to forge. Another problem is that an EUC does not guarantee that the arms recipient will actually live up to its promise not to re-transfer the weapons received. EUCs which are not backed up by proper end-use monitoring are weak. Finally, arms dealers can resort to smuggling arms; for example by labeling them as or hiding them between commercial merchandise.
In 1936-1938, German arms were supplied to both sides in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
via Greece using Greek then Mexican end-user certificates, see Pyrkal
Pyrkal
Founded in 1874, Pyrkal is one of the oldest Defence Industries in Greece and the main producer of ammunition and explosives in the country. Throughout its history it has been one of the largest Greek companies, in fact a reflection of the history of Greek Industry itself...
. In Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Forsyth, CBE is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger, The Afghan and The Cobra.-...
's 1974 novel The Dogs of War arms are obtained with end-user certificates from corrupt officials.