The Arms Trade Treaty

Governments remain central providers of security. This is their sovereign right and responsibility, to be performed in conformity with the rule of law. To effectively execute these tasks, their armed and security forces legitimately employ a range of weaponry, which they acquire through national production or through import. Exporters and importers need to ensure those weapons are transferred and stored safely, and not end up in the wrong hands.

Governments also have a responsibility to ensure public safety and have a vested interest in providing human security and development to their citizens. Therefore, ensuring that arms in private ownership do not enter illicit circuits must be part of the equation for every country.

More on the arms trade and the UN Arms Trade Treaty

General Assembly

• on Arms Trade Treaty
• on SALW
• on UN Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA)
• on national reporting on arms export legislation

Security Council

• S/RES/2220 (2015)
• S/RES/2117(2013)

Human Rights Council

• Impact of arms transfers on human rights in armed conflicts
• Impact of arms transfers on human rights

Treaties, agreements

• Arms Trade Treaty
• Firearms Protocol
• Programme of Action on the illicit trade in small arms
• UN Register of Conventional Arms
• Sharing national arms export legislation

Resources

• Assessing the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (No.16)
• The impact of poorly regulated arms transfers on the work of the United Nations (No.23)

• UNROCA database
• PoA national reporting database

Sustainable Development Goals

• The SDGs include the need to significantly reduce illicit arms flows.
• SDGs indicator 16.4.2

Related Pages

• Conventional Arms
• Arms Trade
• Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas
  • Explosive Weapons In Populated Areas
  • The Political Declaration
  • Small Arms and Light Weapons
  • Fellowship Training Programme
  • Explosive Ordnance
  • Landmines
  • Explosive Remnants of War
  • Improvised Explosive Devices
  • Cluster Munitions
  • Other Conventional Arms Issue
  • Ammunition
  • Depleted Uranium
  • Incendiary Weapons
  • Legal Instruments
  • Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
  • Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention
  • Convention on Cluster Munitions
  • ATT
  • Firearms Protocol
  • Transparency and Confidence Building
  • UNROCA
  • MilEx
  • Conventional Arms Funds
  • UNSCAR
  • SALIENT

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