What will be the core elements of national systems for the control of international transfers of arms under the proposed international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)? This guide sets out a framework for functional and effective national systems of control. Elements of a national control system must include licensing, enforcement, and external outreach (to industry, international partners, and the public). For each of these elements, consideration must be given to legal requirements, institutions and procedures, training, and proof of implementation.
Regulation of the international trade in conventional arms is a necessary and essential component of national and international security. National systems have been established, and a number of regional agreements have been adopted. However, the network of systems is incomplete. The patchwork that currently exists raises the risk of loopholes being used to permit potentially dangerous international arms transfers. In December 2009, therefore, the UN General Assembly voted to start negotiations on an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to be agreed by 2012. This will aim to develop solid national systems for the control of international transfers of arms.
Licensing is at the core of any arms transfer control system. All conventional arms that enter, leave, or pass through a country’s customs membrane or national jurisdiction require authorisation. To be effective, licensing regimes must cover:
- The primary transactions of export, import, transit/trans-shipment, and re-export
- Secondary services such as brokering, freight forwarding, financial services and technical assistance.
Enforcement requires a clear legislative framework that establishes specific arms transfer offences and gives enforcement agencies clear and distinct mandates and powers. Critical to effective enforcement are:
- Sufficient institutional and human resources, including adequate training programmes and sufficient numbers of enforcement officers relative to the quantity of transfers.
- Information sharing and transparency, both in domestic and international circles. Often, awareness of violations by colleagues and competitors and of subsequent prosecutions is the most efficient way of encouraging industry compliance. However, in some cases information sharing will be best kept private to protect national security interests.
External outreach is important to develop cooperative relationships with other national governments and trade and industry. Key points relating to outreach include:
- Intergovernmental relationships allow access to information on complex licensing situations, end-user checks, and commodity classification. A national point of contact for national arms transfer and control policy and practice will facilitate this.
- Outreach to industry can prevent inadvertent violations of laws and regulations. States must avoid ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches in dealing with industry. Tailored assistance helps develop a more cooperative relationship and improves efficiency.
- All governments have made a commitment to place in the public domain certain information on arms transfers through the UN Register of Conventional Arms. States should operate their national transfer control policy on the basis that information will be made public unless there is good reason to withhold it.
