Introduction
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is the first global treaty to establish legally binding standards for regulating the international arms trade. The ATT, when effectively implemented, will increase global transparency and promote greater accountability for global arms transfers. The ATT was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2013. It entered into force on 24 December 2014, ninety days after the deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification. As of 17 July 2015, the ATT has 69 States Parties and an additional 61 signatories.
States Parties need to have the necessary infrastructure in place to ensure that they are able to meet the Treaty’s obligations. States must assess their current arms transfer control systems and identify capacity and resource needs to ensure that their systems are capable of fulfilling Treaty obligations. Many States, however, are uncertain about whether their existing arms transfer control systems fulfill ATT requirements. These States, therefore, seek guidance on what resources they may need to ensure effective implementation. The ATT-Baseline Assessment Project (ATT-BAP) has been working with States to enable them to identify this type of information and provide clear guidance on the Treaty’s provisions.
ATT-BAP developed tools to assist national implementation of the ATT and to help identify areas in which States might seek to engage in bilateral and international cooperation and assistance, including a Ratification Checklist, a Baseline Assessment Survey, and an online database and portal. The ATT-Baseline Assessment Survey is useful for individual States, as well as for regional organizations working to ensure effective Treaty implementation. For example, the European Union (EU) Arms Trade Treaty Outreach Project (ATT-OP) utilizes completed Baseline Assessment Surveys as part of its engagement with partner countries seeking assistance.
Moreover, the data contained in completed surveys is available for use by States, civil society, international organizations, regional organizations, and other groups to develop specific and targeted initiatives to support ATT implementation. For example, the Baseline Assessment Survey has been adapted to fit regional needs and requirements in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) used the survey to develop its own regional assessment of current Treaty implementation efforts and needs. The CARICOM version was completed by eight CARICOM Member States (Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago). Regional engagement is crucial to harmonize regulatory approaches as well as share best practices among those with common experiences, and to allocate scarce resources.
This report presents data on cooperation and assistance provided by the 61 States that completed and returned their Baseline Assessment Surveys on or before 17 July 2015. This report presents responses to sections 11 and 12 in the Baseline Assessment Survey, which seek information from States on implementation of provisions contained in ATT Articles 15 and 16 on international cooperation and international assistance respectively. The report provides quantitative data and highlights several examples of existing cooperation practices and assistance needs, as well as areas in which States are willing to offer assistance to help other States fulfill their ATT obligations. The final section of the report considers steps that the ATT Secretariat could undertake to support implementation assistance.
