Arms trade treaty

Briefing 05-09-2011

Unlike weapons of mass destruction and land mines, international trade in conventional weapons is not covered by a legally binding global treaty. Currently, the relevant international regulations are made up of a patchwork of UN embargos, transparency mechanisms and a voluntary code of conduct. Since 2010, a UN preparatory committee on Arms Trade Treaty has been mandated to prepare the basis for a final conference to agree the treaty in 2012.