Arms Trade Treaty Overview
Background on the ATT and Its Provisions
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is a multilateral treaty of unlimited duration. Its stated objectives are to “establish the highest possible common international standards for regulating or improving the regulation of the international trade in conventional arms …” and to “prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms and prevent their diversion.” Though various concepts similar to the ATT have been discussed in international circles for decades, a speech by the United Kingdom (UK) foreign secretary backing the concept in 2004 is widely credited as giving critical momentum to the movement by adding a major conventional arms exporter to…
