Arms Trade Treaty – a major milestone for human rights

Since the early 1990s, we’ve been campaigning to achieve robust, global laws of international arms trading to stop the flow of weapons fuelling atrocities around the world. Millions of you have taken action and called on governments to support this.

Finally – after nearly two decades of campaigning – the Arms Trade Treaty is set to become a reality.

At a ceremony at the UN in New York in September 2014, St Lucia, Argentina, Czech Republic, Senegal, Bahamas, Uruguay, Portugal and Bosnia Herzegovina ratified the treaty, bringing the total number of ratifications to 53 – and triggering a 90-day countdown to entry into force.

When the treaty comes into force on 25 December 2014, it will be binding international law for every country that ratified it.

What is the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?

The ATT is an international treaty that sets out rules to stop arms falling into the hands of human rights abusers.

The global arms trade is big business, with a recorded value of almost USD$100 billion – but it is often shrouded in secrecy. Shockingly, there are more international laws regulating the trade of bananas than weapons.

Thousands of people are killed every day by conflict and armed violence, and millions are forced to flee their homes in fear. With a stronger ATT, we could save thousands of lives every year.

What next?

Our campaigning doesn’t stop here. We want all states to commit to the Arms Trade Treaty.

Some of the world’s biggest arms producers – USA, China and Russia – are still yet to ratify.

We'll continue to keep up the pressure on states by exposing cases of irresponsible arms transfers and pressing governments to ratify the treaty.