DYB2011-Part-II-web

United Nations Disarmament Yearbook 2011: Part II
106
Towards an arms trade treaty
At present, there is no global set of rules governing the arms trade.
An eclectic set of national and regional control measures on arms transfers
exists, but the absence of a global framework has obscured transparency,
comparability and accountability. Too many weapons end up in the wrong
hands, and too often an arms export request denied by one country is approved
by another. Those suffering most from the poorly regulated arms trade are the
women and men, adolescents and children, who experience blatant misuse
of arms by armed and security forces, and those living amid conflict and
pervasive crime, often in conditions of poverty, deprivation and extreme
inequality. Following a strong push from civil society organizations, States
started in 2006 a process to consider the possibility of an arms trade treaty
(ATT). It has evolved subsequently over the years.
Second and third Preparatory Committee meetings on an arms
trade treaty
After the adoption of General Assembly resolution 61/89 of 6 December
2006 on an ATT, an unprecedented number of Member States submitted
their views to the Secretary-General on the issue, which he reported to the
General Assembly in 2007. 113 Then, in 2008, a group of governmental experts
examined the feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a comprehensive,
legally binding instrument establishing common international standards
for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms, and produced its
consensus report. 114 In 2009, an open-ended working group held two meetings,
which allowed all States to contribute to the debate. And finally, the General
Assembly decided to convene the 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 and decided to
consider the remaining sessions of the Open-ended Working Group as sessions
of the Preparatory Committee for this Conference. Significantly, Member
States have committed themselves to concluding a “strong and robust” treaty,
which would provide assurances of a meaningful process.
Building on the work carried out during its first session, the
Preparatory Committee held its second session from 27 February
to 3 March and its third session from 11 to 15 July in New York,
chaired by Roberto García Moritán (Argentina). States continued their
substantive discussions aided by revised drafts of an informal paper
that the Chairperson had submitted to the Committee at its first session.
During the sessions of the Committee and the intersessional period, the Chair
of the Preparatory Committee conducted extensive consultations, which
113 A/62/278 (Parts I and II) and Adds.1-4.
114 A/63/334.