The Australia Group’s (AG) Common Control Lists are maintained through regular expert level review to ensure that they remain relevant, appropriate and enforceable. In doing so, the AG ensures it considers emerging agents, precursors, equipment and technologies that enable chemical and biological weapons development, production and use.
All states participating in the AG are parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, and strongly support efforts under those conventions to rid the world of chemical and biological weapons.
The Factors for Consideration (FFC) form a framework to facilitate AG discussions when reviewing and assessing items for inclusion, modification or removal from the AG Common Control Lists. The FFC are not prescriptive, restrictive or exhaustive.
Factors for Consideration
AG participants consider a number of factors to determine whether an ‘item’ will be included in the Control Lists. These include, but are not limited to:
- Whether the 'item(s)' have been used, developed, produced, transferred, sought or acquired by any actor for chemical or biological weapons purposes.
- Whether the 'item(s)' have significant potential to be used, developed, produced, transferred, sought or acquired by any actor for chemical or biological weapons purposes.
- Whether the control of the 'item(s)' would hinder or be reasonably expected to hinder the proliferation, development, production, or use of chemical or biological weapons.
- Whether the control of the 'item(s)' would be reasonably practical, in economic and administrative terms, to implement and enforce.
Note: 'item(s)' are understood as the following:
- dual-use chemical manufacturing facilities and equipment and related technology and software
- dual-use biological equipment and related technology and software
- chemicals of concern
- biological agents including human, animal and plant pathogens and toxins.