INTRODUCTION

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is the result of nearly two decades of intense advocacy and diplomacy. It is also a historical novelty in that it is the first international arms control instrument of its kind, and as such represents an important step forward in regulating and restraining the international trade in conventional arms and related items as defined in Articles 2, 3, and 4 of the Treaty.

The ATT, through the creation of international standards to regulate the international conventional arms trade, in part seeks to address one of the structural conditions that lead to and escalate armed violence and conflicts: the supply of arms. As the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General has noted:

In this regard, the ATT represents a change in how the international community defines and addresses common security challenges. In adopting the ATT, States are seeking to improve oversight over international arms transfers by addressing the trade more from the human security perspective, by looking at a range of possible negative impacts from the use of conventional arms and seeking to prevent them. The object and purpose, representative of the essential goals of the ATT, captures this shift.