Position Paper No.

4
July 2010

Making the Arms Trade Treaty operational

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) should set out standards and mechanisms to ensure that States Parties
can adequately implement the Treaty at national level. Provisions for transparency should also be
included along with mechanisms for monitoring and review of the Treaty, for the resolution of disputes
concerning implementation and for technical co-operation and assistance.

1. National implementation
Implementation of an ATT will take place at the national level within relevant ministries, government
offices and agencies of the States Parties. For all States Parties to implement the provisions of an ATT
fairly, and in a responsible manner, the Treaty will need to set out clear standards for the necessary
national laws, regulations and administrative procedures that are required for full adherence to the
Treaty’s provisions. These implementation provisions should be closely linked to the scope and
parameters of the ATT.

Effective national control mechanisms for international transfers of arms should include:
• clear national legislation promulgating, fully, the scope, parameter and implementation
provisions of the Treaty;
• effective mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing compliance with national controls, including
customs and enforcement capacity backed by clear legal penalties; and
• the use of authenticated end-user certificates and follow-up procedures to verify lawful
delivery, storage and end-use.

2. Transparency mechanisms
An ATT should include clear obligations relating to the provision, on an annual basis, of national reports
on international transfers of conventional arms and ammunition. The Treaty should require that such
reports are made public and that they reflect the full extent of the obligations enshrined within the
Treaty. To this end, the Treaty should require every State Party to establish effective national-level
systems to accurately record and document all international arms transfers that take place under their
jurisdiction as well as all licenses or authorisations issued and data on associated transactions.

The data should be sufficiently meaningful to enable independent scrutiny and set out according to clear
generic categories covering, at a minimum:
• post facto details of licences issued for transfers of conventional arms and ammunition and
associated transactions – including the date of issue, types and quantities of arms/ammunition
to be transferred and the end-user – and comparable information relating to actual transfers of
arms and ammunition under licences granted during a given period;
• steps taken to implement the treaty at national level; and
• details of capacity-building assistance provided and received.

Sufficient information should be provided in national reports so as to allow legislatures, citizens and
other States to scrutinise whether the principles and parameters of the Treaty are being adequately
applied, both to the full scope of equipment and types of international transfers and associated
transactions that are controlled under the treaty. Moreover, States should not use unreasonable
arguments relating to national security and commercial confidentiality in order to block the release of
national reports containing post facto generic data into the public domain since this could block
legitimate oversight of the arms trade.

3. Monitoring and review mechanisms

In order to function effectively, an ATT will require appropriate institutional arrangements. A minimum
requirement would be to establish an annual Meeting of States Parties alongside provision for a
formal Review of the Treaty every five years. Beyond this, experience from other international
regimes suggests that an ATT would also benefit from the establishment of a permanent or semi-
permanent Executive-type Institution that would be tasked with overseeing the day-to-day
www.controlarms.org

Control Arms is a global civil society alliance campaigning for a

bulletproof Arms Trade Treaty that will save lives and livelihoods.
 functioning of the regime, including the work of an ATT Secretariat and any compliance mechanisms
established under the regime (see below). In addition, civil society and those involved in the arms trade
should be encouraged make a positive contribution to the effective functioning of the ATT regime by
providing any relevant information they have on Treaty implementation to the appropriate state
authorities.

A Treaty institution, such as an ATT Secretariat, could be tasked with reviewing the data on
international arms transfers and associated transactions provided by State Parties, and with providing
support and guidance to State Parties in the production of their national reports. This would facilitate
the monitoring of compliance and help build confidence internationally in the effective functioning of the
Treaty. A Secretariat could also be charged with matching capacity-building needs by identifying sources
of appropriate assistance. Such a Secretariat should not interfere with States' lawful decision-making
procedures on international arms transfers.

4. Compliance and dispute settlement provisions

Formal procedures governing consultation among States Parties on cases of suspected non-compliance
have been established under most international treaty regimes. Accordingly an ATT should codify
States Parties’ right to raise issues relating to compliance or to particular decisions
on international arms transfers, either directly with other concerned States Parties, or through
an official Treaty body. Should initial consultations fail to resolve a compliance issue, provision should be
made in the ATT for States Parties to have recourse to further action.

At a minimum, States Parties should be permitted to take matters of compliance to an annual Meeting
of States Parties or, in exceptional circumstances – the nature of which should be agreed – to an
Extraordinary Meeting of States Parties. The ATT could also allow for the establishment of a Group of
Experts to investigate questions of compliance. Such a Group of Experts could be mandated by a
Meeting (or Extraordinary Meeting) of States Parties to undertake a range of activities from
deliberation of evidence already accrued, to fact-finding and further evidence gathering. The opinion of
the Group of Experts could then be presented to a Meeting of States Parties which, as the ultimate
arbiter, would be required to make a final decision. Specific time frames governing the implementation
these provisions should be established in the provisions of the ATT.

Every effort should be made to prevent violations of the ATT and resolve differences between States
Parties by means of the Treaty’s consultation mechanisms and compliance provisions. However,
intractable cases may arise and, in such circumstances, recourse to dispute settlement
procedures will be necessary. The ATT should therefore clearly specify the roles and responsibilities
of different institutions involved in such procedures. While the detailed investigation of any compliance
issue would be undertaken in private, in order to ensure confidence is maintained in the operation of
the regime, it will be vital that the resolution of disputes is made public.

Where a State Party is confirmed as being in persistent or flagrant violation of an ATT, provisions should
exist for the matter to be referred to the UN General Assembly and for the imposition of specific
sanctions against the offender by States Parties.

5. Technical Cooperation and Assistance

The Arms Trade Treaty should include a comprehensive framework for international cooperation and
support, whereby States can request and receive assistance from other interested States and relevant
international, regional, and sub-regional organizations in order to facilitate full implementation of their
Treaty obligations. An ATT Secretariat could play an important role in helping states to identify and
articulate their specific needs through, for example, facilitating a thorough assessment of national
capacity to implement the Treaty.

Assistance to promote full Treaty implementation could be provided for:

• the development or review of national laws, regulations and administrative procedures
• the strengthening of national transfer control systems
• enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies.

States in a position to do so should be encouraged to participate in the formulation and delivery of

capacity-building and assistance programmes.
www.controlarms.org