Christian Ciobanu and Martin P. Slawek

During Monday's afternoon session, several  states provided their introductory remarks about the elements of a potential Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), including Iraq, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, the United States of America, China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation, India, Netherlands, and Japan. The speakers outlined their goals for an ATT, including addressing the illicit transfer of arms and preserving national sovereignty, and shared their expectations on whether the first stage of negotiations will yield a robust and effective treaty.

Ghana noted the need for the ATT to address the illicit trade of arms and emphasized that states must ensure that they negotiate a treaty that does not "allow arms to flow from the legitimate market to the illicit market." Similarly, Nigeria noted that the illicit transfer of arms undermines peace, security, and development. Nigeria recommended that the ATT must contain an element that will enforce current UN embargoes on regimes that commit human rights violations and protect women and children from the illicit transfer of weapons. Nigeria called upon producers and importers "to interact with one another in spirit of cooperation in achieving a larger and bigger picture."

The French delegation asserted that states should set up technical assistance programs to establish universal norms for the ATT. Russia focused on the licensing and legal regulation of all arms-related activities, including brokering. Additionally, Morocco announced that the ATT must establish strict control mechanisms on every brokerage activity.

The Russian Federation would like to have a common effort in which countries define weak links within the legal arms trade where real risks of diversion to illicit or unofficial markets exist. The US delegation agrees that there is a need for transparency; however, they advocated for countries to take responsibility individually, and opposed an expansive verification regime. Additionally, the U.S. delegation stated that by creating rigorous, transparent standards it is possible to understand the flow of weapons.

The Chinese delegation believes that the ATT should be universal and objective, and stated that their primary goal for the ATT is to maintain stability, while at the same time preserving the right to self defense. The Chinese delegation believes that "we cannot strengthen one aspect at the expense of others." The goals expressed by the Iranian delegation are to keep the ATT from undermining the ability of states to use arms for national security or transfer arms within a state, and that the ATT should not supersede other treaties.

China and Iran stressed state sovereignty during their remarks; China believes that the legal arms trade is necessary for self defense and sovereignty.  Iran expressed their view that the ATT cannot subvert states' authority to the authority of a regional or international organization, adding that any weapon-sharing among members of military alliances should be governed by treaty provision.

In concluding their comments, both Russia and the United Arab Emirates expressed skepticism about the outcome of the negotiations.  Russia stated once again that it could not support an "ineffective" Arms Trade Treaty. The UAE focused instead on the structure of the negotiations, questioning whether it would be better for the Chair to direct discussion on components of the ATT individually instead of addressing the entirety of the treaty in plenary sessions.

Christian Ciobanu is an intern with the International Action Network on Small Arms. Martin P. Slawek is an intern with the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security.