Background
In October 2009, the international community agreed to launch negotiations for a treaty to effectively regulate the international arms trade. After an international campaign lead by Nobel Peace Laureates and non-governmental organisations from all regions of the world, including the Amnesty International movement, 153 States voted in favour of UN General Assembly Resolution 64/48 calling on UN Member States to establish a “strong and robust” treaty and achieve an “effective” instrument with the highest possible common international standards for the import, export and international transfer of conventional arms. United Nations Preparatory Committees (PrepComs) for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) met for two weeks in 2010 and again in 2011, involving most Member States.
Following the most recent Arms Trade Treaty UN PrepCom (July 2011) there is a consolidated Draft Chair’s Paper covering all key areas of a future Treaty (the preamble, principles, goals and objectives, criteria, scope, implementation and final provisions).
A final UN PrepCom open to all Member States will meet from 13 to 17 February 2012 to discuss the Draft Chair’s Paper on the ATT and decide the procedural arrangements for the final scheduled Treaty negotiating conference to be held at the UN Headquarters in New York from 2 to 27 July 2012.