About the ATT

The best way to decrease tragic violence from occurring in the future is to establish a set of universal standards to guide the trade in arms. The global, regional and national scope of the arms trade means that existing regulations are not enough. The UN Charter, as well as international human rights and humanitarian law, already provide a number of important limitations on states' freedom to transfer weapons. However, some of these restrictions are only implied and their application to the trade in weapons is not altogether clear, therefore it is increasingly necessary to codify them in an explicit agreement that makes clear the international responsibilities of weapons transfers.

Drawing on existing international law, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is a model for a legally binding international agreement establishing a set of basic rules to regulate the international transfer of conventional arms. It is based on the simple principle that arms exporters and importers have a responsibility to ensure that they do not provide weapons that would be used in serious violations of international law.

The aim of the draft treaty is to establish a precise, harmonized normative framework for state behavior in the international weapons market. The treaty would set out core, common minimum standards for international arms transfers, and a workable operative mechanism for the application of these standards. These basic standards would not, of course, preclude the establishment of stronger national or regional controls.

It is critical to note that the ATT would not impose a completely new normative framework on state behavior. Rather, it would affirm states' existing responsibilities under international law, clarify them, give them the force of renewed commitment, and provide a mechanism for their consistent and effective application to the trade in weapons.

There are several important mandates for the establishment of such an instrument, including the UN Programme of Action agreed at the July 2001 UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms. It is incumbent upon the international community to follow-up on existing mandates by moving towards an instrument that codifies these existing responsibilities and applies them to the trade in weapons.

How would an ATT work?

Draft framework convention on international arms transfers (pdf, 229Kb)
What is legal? What is illegal? (pdf, 144Kb)
ATT global principles (pdf, 84Kb)