Arms Trade Treaty

The global trade in conventional weapons – from warships and battle tanks to fighter jets and machine guns – remains poorly regulated. No set of internationally agreed standards exist to ensure that arms are only transferred for appropriate use.

Many governments have voiced concern about the absence of globally agreed rules for all States to guide their decisions on arms transfers. That is why they have started negotiating an Arms Trade Treaty.

Towards an Arms Trade Treaty

In 2006, the General Assembly requested countries to submit their views on such a treaty. More than 100 countries did. These views were collected in a 2007 report by the Secretary-General on the issue.

In 2008 a Group of Governmental Experts produced a report on the topic.

In 2009 an Open-ended Working Group – open to all States – held two meetings on an arms trade treaty. A total of six sessions of this Group were planned.

At the end of 2009 the General Assembly decided to convene a Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty in 2012 "to elaborate a legally binding instrument on the highest possible common international standards for the transfer of conventional arms". The General Assembly also indicated that the remaining four sessions of the Open-ended Working Group should be considered as sessions of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for this Conference. The first PrepCom took place in July 2010.

In 2011, PrepComs are held on 28 February-4 March, and 11-15 July.