International Traffic in Arms Regulations: Updates to Certain Proscribed Countries and Other Changes

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF STATE <CFR>22 CFR Parts 120 and 126</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Public Notice: 12731]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1400-AF83</RIN> <SUBJECT>International Traffic in Arms Regulations: Updates to Certain Proscribed Countries and Other Changes</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Department of State. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Department of State is amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to update the entries for the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, pursuant to recent United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). Further, the Department is updating the list of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members and major non-NATO allies and is making other corrections and clarifications within the ITAR. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective on July 7, 2025. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Mr. Ryan Haddad, Foreign Affairs Officer, Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy, U.S. Department of State, telephone: 771-204-7878; email <E T="03">DDTCCustomerService@state.gov.</E> ATTN: Regulatory Change, ITAR Section 126.1 and Other Changes. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> The Department is amending ITAR § 126.1 pursuant to recent UNSCRs. Additionally, the Department is making other corrections and clarifications to the ITAR in this rule, including revising ITAR § 120.23 paragraph (a) to amend the list of NATO members to add Finland and Sweden and revise the reference to the Czech Republic to Czechia; paragraph (b) to amend the list of major non-NATO allies by adding Colombia, Kenya, and Qatar and removing Afghanistan; paragraph (c) to amend the list of countries in the Wassenaar Arrangement by revising the reference to the Czech Republic to Czechia; removing duplicative references to the Russian Federation from ITAR § 120.54(a)(5)(iv) and (v); revising ITAR § 126.1(a) to improve its readability by restructuring it to set out its existing exceptions as discreet subparagraphs; and updating the table associated with ITAR § 126.1(d)(2). The ITAR § 126.1 changes found in this rule are as follows: <HD SOURCE="HD1">Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)</HD> On June 27, 2024, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 2738 to support efforts promoting peace and stability in the DRC against continued threats from armed groups operating in the country. In addition to renewing the United Nations (UN) arms embargo against non-governmental entities and individuals, this resolution reaffirmed there is no longer a requirement to pre-notify the DRC Sanctions Committee of shipments of arms and related materiel to the DRC Government, or any provision to the DRC Government of assistance, advice, or training related to military activities in the DRC. The Department is amending ITAR § 126.1(i) to remove this pre-notification requirement. In addition, the Department is amending paragraph (i) by inserting an “or” between the final two paragraphs describing situations in which a license or other approval may be issued. The “or” was inadvertently omitted when the entry was amended by 81 FR 66804, Sept. 29, 2016. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Haiti</HD> On October 18, 2024, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2752, which renewed and revised the UN arms embargo on Haiti. This resolution was intended to further support the Haitian Government's efforts to counter increasing gang violence and criminality that threaten regional peace and stability. The Department is amending ITAR § 126.1(j) to implement recent changes to the UN arms embargo on Haiti related to exports, and the Department is choosing to maintain the inclusion of imports in ITAR § 126.1(j) for policy reasons. Because this amendment involves the removal of paragraph (j)(2), the Department also takes this opportunity to restructure the entry to be consistent with the format for other entries in that section. First, ITAR § 126.1(j) is revised to include the standard policy text previously found at paragraph (j)(1) and the subsequent subordinate paragraphs are redesignated from (i) through (iii) to (1) through (3). Second, new paragraph (j)(1) (formerly (j)(1)(i)) is revised to broaden the existing text to allow for case-by-case consideration of defense article and defense service exports “to or by,” instead of “to,” recipients identified in the paragraph. Third, new paragraph (j)(2) (formerly paragraph (j)(1)(ii)) is revised to permit consideration on a case-by-case basis of exports of defense articles and defense services to Haiti that have been pre-approved by the UNSC Haiti Sanctions Committee. Finally, new paragraph (j)(3) (formerly paragraph (j)(1)(iii)) is revised to permit case-by-case consideration of exports to Haiti of non-lethal military equipment solely for humanitarian or protective use and related technical assistance or training, when intended to further the objectives of peace and stability in Haiti, thereby broadening an existing exclusion for personal protective equipment. In line with these changes, the Department is also amending this paragraph to remove former paragraph (j)(2). <HD SOURCE="HD1">Libya</HD> To support the political stabilization of Libya, and in response to concerns about the growing influence of armed groups in the country, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2769 on January 16, 2025. This revised the existing UN arms embargo by excluding from its scope defense services for the sole purpose of promoting reunification of Libyan military and security institutions, as well as temporary exports of defense articles in support of those activities, as notified in advance to the UNSC Libya Sanctions Committee. Additionally, another exclusion was added for temporary exports to Libya of military aircraft and naval vessels delivering items not otherwise subject to the UN arms embargo, along with any defense articles that remain aboard the vessel or aircraft while in Libya. The resolution also contains an exception for protective clothing for personal use by UN, media, humanitarian, and development personnel and others; small arms, light weapons, and related materiel to certain actors when pre-notified to the UNSC Libya Sanctions Committee; non-lethal military equipment intended solely for humanitarian or protective use, and certain other exceptions. The Department is amending ITAR § 126.1(k) to implement these changes and to remove the existing (k)(1) paragraph, which was removed from the UN arms embargo exclusions through UNSC Resolution 2009 on September 16, 2011. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Somalia</HD> On December 1, 2023, the UNSC adopted two resolutions intended to refocus its arms embargo in support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia's efforts to counter Al-Shabaab, a terrorist group in Somalia. The first, Resolution 2713, applied a comprehensive arms embargo on all deliveries of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment to Somalia with exceptions for deliveries to the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Somali National Army, the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency, the Somali National Police Force, and the Somali Custodial Corps, as well as certain other exceptions in the resolution. The second, Resolution 2714, formally lifted the prior nationwide arms embargo on Somalia that had been in place since the adoption of Resolution 733 in 1992. These measures were reauthorized and modified in Resolution 2776 on March 3, 2025. The Department is amending ITAR § 126.1(m) to implement these changes. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Central African Republic (CAR)</HD> On July 30, 2024, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2745, which modified the existing UN arms embargo toward CAR in recognition of the country's security sector reforms and the continuing need to ensure peace and stability within its borders. This resolution lifted the arms embargo for CAR and the associated UNSC Central African Republic Sanctions Committee reporting requirements while the arms embargo remains in place for armed groups and associated individuals operating within CAR. The Department is amending ITAR § 126.1(u) to update the regulations with the corresponding changes adopted through Resolution 2745. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Sudan</HD> On September 11, 2024, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2750, which renewed the UN arms embargo on Sudan in response to continuing conflict in Darfur. The Department is amending ITAR § 126.1(v) to implement this resolution and prior provisions through the deletion of ITAR § 126.1(v)(4), which allowed for a case-by-case review of licenses or other approvals involving assistance and supplies provided in support of implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. This removal requires minor conforming changes to paragraphs (v)(2) and (v)(3). <HD SOURCE="HD1">South Sudan</HD> On May 30, 2024, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2731, which renewed the UN arms embargo on South Sudan in response to sustained civil strife within the country. This embargo does not apply to defense article and defense service exports to UN personnel and certain UN-authorized missions; non-lethal military equipment and related technical assistance for humanitarian or protective use, as notified in advance to the UNSC South Sudan Sanctions Committee; protective clothing for the personal use of UN personnel, media members, and humanitarian and development workers and associated personnel; arms and related material temporarily exported by a state to protect or evacuate its people as notified to the UNSC South Sudan Sanctions Committee; arms and related material, including technical assistance, to or in support of the African Union Regional Task Force for the purpose of countering the Lord's Resistance Army as notified to the UNSC South Sudan Sanctions ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 33k characters. 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