Arms Trade Treaty
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is a multilateral treaty that regulates the international trade in conventional weapons.
Map showing which states have signed or ratified the Treaty. Signatories Parties | |
Signed | Open for signature from 3 June 2013 |
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Location | New York City, USA |
Sealed | 2 April 2013 |
Effective | 24 December 2014 |
Condition | 90 days after ratification by 50 states (Article 22) |
Signatories | 130 |
Parties | 113 |
Depositary | UN Secretary-General |
Languages | Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish |
Full text | |
Arms Trade Treaty at Wikisource |
It entered into force on 24 December 2014. 113 states have ratified the treaty, and a further 28 states have signed but not ratified it.
The ATT is an attempt to regulate the international trade of conventional weapons for the purpose of contributing to international and regional peace; reducing human suffering; and promoting co-operation, transparency, and responsible action by and among states.
The treaty was negotiated in New York City at a global conference under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) from 2–27 July 2012. As it was not possible to reach an agreement on a final text at that time, a new meeting for the conference was scheduled for 18–28 March 2013. On 2 April 2013, the UN General Assembly adopted the ATT.
International weapons commerce has been estimated to reach US$70 billion a year.