An end-user certificate, or EUC, is a document used in international transfers, including sales and arms provided as aid, of

weapons A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

and

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

to certify that the buyer is the final recipient of the materials and does not plan on transferring the materials to another. EUCs are required by many governments to restrict the movement of military materials to undesired destinations, such as non-state actors under an international or domestic

embargo Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...

, governments with bad human rights records or states that are considered to be threats by the original supplier of the arms.

Issues

There are several problems with EUCs as a means to prevent undesirable

arms exports The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and serv ...

: EUCs can be

forged Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it ...

or falsified. They can also be obtained from

corrupt Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

officials and so 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 transfer the weapons received. EUCs that are not backed up by proper end-use monitoring are weak. In 1936 to 1938, German arms were supplied to both sides in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

via Greece using Greek and Mexican end-user certificates: see

Pyrkal Founded in 1874, Pyrkal (Greek: Πυρκάλ) is one of the oldest defense 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 ...

References

Arms control Military industry Weapons trade {{law-term-stub