Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 105 Part 1.djvu/746

 105 STAT. 718 PUBLIC LAW 102-138—OCT. 28, 1991 commensurate with United States responsibilities in the world, as such funds can engender good will and further our national interests and objectives in the UNCED process. 22 USC 2778 TITLE IV—ARMS TRANSFERS RESTRAINT POLICY FOR THE "° *e MIDDLE EAST AND PERSIAN GULF REGION SEC. 401. FINDINGS. The Congress finds that— (1) nations in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region, which accounted for over 40 percent of the international trade in weapons and related equipment and services during the decade of the 1980's, are the principal market for the worldwide arms trade; (2) regional instability, large financial resources, and the desire of arms-supplying governments to gain influence in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region, contribute to a regional arms race; (3) the continued proliferation of weapons and related equipment and services contribute further to a regional arms race in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region that is politically, economically, and militarily destabilizing; (4) the continued proliferation of unconventional weapons, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, as well as delivery systems associated with those weapons, poses an urgent threat to security and stability in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region; (5) the continued proliferation of ballistic missile technologies and ballistic missile systems that are capable of delivering conventional, nuclear, biological, or chemical warheads undermines security and stability in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region; (6) future security and stability in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region would be enhanced by establishing a stable military balance among regional powers by restraining and reducing both conventional and unconventional weapons; (7) security, stability, peace, and prosperity in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region are important to the welfare of the international economy and to the national security interests of the United States; (8) future security and stability in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region would be enhanced through the development of a multilateral arms transfer and control regime similar to those of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, and the Australia Chemical Weapons Suppliers Group; (9) such a regime should be developed, implemented, and agreed to through multilateral negotiations, including under the auspices of the 5 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council; (10) confidence-building arms control measures such as the establishment of a centralized arms trade registry at the United Nations, greater multinational transparency on the transfer of defense articles and services prior to agreement or transfer, cooperative verification measures, advanced notification of military exercises, information exchanges, on-site inspections, and creation of a Middle East and Persian Gulf Conflict Prevention

�