Five Eyes
Security
Two signatures closed the British-U.S. Communication Intelligence Agreement on 5 March 1946. Paragraph 6 settles the rest: the Dominions are not parties to it and are not to be regarded as third parties either. Appendix J of 13 February 1961 names Canada, Australia and New Zealand collaborating countries and leaves the parties at two. The Five Country Ministerial has met since July 2013.
5 countries
Common questions
Questions about Five Eyes
Which countries are in the Five Eyes?
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The founding document divides them: the British-U.S. Communication Intelligence Agreement of 5 March 1946 has two parties, one American board and one British one, and Appendix J of 13 February 1961 calls Canada, Australia and New Zealand collaborating countries, which are not parties to the agreement but are not to be regarded as third parties either.
Is there a Five Eyes treaty?
No instrument in the declassified set is a treaty among the 5 states. The 1946 agreement was made between the State-Army-Navy Communication Intelligence Board and the London Signal Intelligence Board, it became effective on the signature of their representatives rather than on ratification, and paragraph 11 lets either party terminate it completely at any time on notice.
When did each country join the Five Eyes?
The two agencies publish different answers for Canada. The National Security Agency says the agreement was extended to Canada in 1948 and to Australia and New Zealand in 1956. The GCHQ timeline says Canada in 1949 and Australia and New Zealand in 1956. Both are the agencies' own accounts, and this catalogue records both dates instead of picking one.
When was the UKUSA agreement made public?
On 24 June 2010, when GCHQ and the National Security Agency released declassified documents covering 1940 to 1956 through the agency's website and the United Kingdom National Archives. GCHQ says the agreement had not been officially acknowledged before then, though its existence had been known about from the 1980s. Individual papers were cleared later still, Appendix J on 4 April 2018.
What is the Five Country Ministerial?
An annual meeting of home affairs, public safety, interior, security, border and immigration ministers from the member governments, covering border and migration security, counter-terrorism, aviation security and online harm. It first met at Monterey in California in July 2013, and immigration ministers were invited to join in 2016. It is a separate arrangement from the signals intelligence agreement of 1946.
Who oversees the Five Eyes agencies?
Each country oversees its own, and the oversight bodies meet as the Five Eyes Intelligence Oversight and Review Council. Seven entities sit on it: Canada and New Zealand each send two, and Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States send one each. It operates under a charter, compares methods of review, and publishes an executive summary of its annual meeting.
Sources
- British-U.S. Communication Intelligence Agreement and Outline, 5 March 1946 · National Security Agency. The twelve numbered paragraphs, the two boards named in paragraph 1, the six operations in paragraph 3, the footnote defining a foreign country, paragraph 6 on the Dominions, and the termination clause in paragraph 11.
- UKUSA Agreement Release · National Security Agency. The released archive itself, the description of Australia, Canada and New Zealand as second parties, and the note that the images are of formerly classified carbon paper.
- Declassified UKUSA Signals Intelligence Agreement Documents Available · National Security Agency, 24 June 2010. The joint release with GCHQ, the period 1940 to 1956, and the extension to Canada in 1948 and to Australia and New Zealand in 1956.
- A Brief History of the UKUSA agreement · GCHQ, 5 March 2021. BRUSA on 17 May 1943, agreement in principle on 12 September 1945, the text settled in November 1945, Canada dated to 1949, and the release to the National Archives in 2010.
- Principles of UKUSA Collaboration with Commonwealth Countries Other Than the UK, Appendix J, 13 February 1961 · National Security Agency. That Commonwealth countries other than the United Kingdom are not parties but are not third parties, and that Canada, Australia and New Zealand are referred to as collaborating countries. Cleared for release on 4 April 2018.
- UKUSA Arrangements Affecting Australia and New Zealand, Appendix J, Annexure J1, 13 February 1961 · National Security Agency. Defence Signals Branch Melbourne as a joint United Kingdom, Australian and New Zealand organisation with an integrated staff, in contrast to the Ottawa centre.
- Five Country Ministerial · Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, New Zealand. The composition and scope of the meeting, the first meeting at Monterey in July 2013, and the addition of immigration ministers in 2016.
- Five Eyes Intelligence Oversight and Review Council (FIORC) · Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Australia. The seven oversight bodies on the council, the charter it works to, and the published summaries of its annual meetings.
- Five Country Ministerial · Department of Home Affairs, Australia. The communiqués and joint statements issued after each meeting.