Multilateral options for enhancing the regulation of brokers to counter diversion.

All Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) states parties are obliged to implement measures to regulate brokers and arms brokering, as well as take action to address illicit arms brokering. This Brief shows that unscrupulous brokers operating in diversion-enabling environments exploit weaknesses and loopholes in national legal, regulatory and control systems to divert arms to the illicit market and to unauthorized (end-) users. 

Preventing illicit brokering requires collective efforts by the international community. A national legal, regulatory and control system that adequately regulates brokering in all states will enable international efforts to implement ATT provisions on brokering in the interests of global peace, security and stability. Overall, since the entry into force of the ATT, states parties have made progress in regulating brokers and the brokering of conventional arms in order to reduce the risks of unscrupulous brokers diverting these arms to theillicit market and to unauthorized (end-)users. However, a lot remains to be done. 


Considerations on brokering for the Working Group on Effective Treaty Implementation 


This ATT Issue Brief is intended to provide a basis for fruitful substantive discussions in the context of the reconfigured and restructured ATT Working Group on Effective Treaty Implementation (WGETI) under its new work plan. The work plan, which was welcomed by ATT CSP10, provides for an examination of the implementation of ATT Article 10 (on brokering) in the near future. The following key findings and insights from the analysis of information contained in the 70 publicly available initial reports from ATT states parties may be particularly useful: 

  •  There is good potential for ATT states parties to achieve a common understanding on what constitute “core arms brokering activities”, although the same cannot be said for “closely associated arms brokering activities” that could be regulated. 
  •  States parties not only use registration and authorization or licensing for individual transactions to regulate brokering. Many or most use a two-step approach, consisting of both registration and then authorization or licensing for individual transactions. A few states prohibit all brokering activities within their national jurisdiction. 
  •  At least 21 ATT states parties also exercise controls over brokering by their nationals, or permanent residents, or domiciled companies, when these brokering activities are carried out in other states (i.e., have extraterritorial controls and assert some degree of extraterritorial jurisdiction). 
  •  Different national authorities are responsible for national regulation or are involved in decision-making processes related to brokering and brokers. This highlights in particular the importance of national coordination and inter-agency cooperation among relevant authorities. When considering the implementation of ATT Article 10 and related provisions, or while reviewing national systems, laws and regulations on brokers and brokering to strengthen the national control system, the key elements and questions outlined in Box 10 merit consideration. They draw on measures contained in relevant international instruments on conventional arms control, including the ATT, as well as international good practice and guidance documents.
Based on the questions and responses, as well as existing international guidance, the WGETI could provide guidance for ATT states parties seeking to put in place measures to regulate brokering and to counter the role of brokering in the diversion of conventional arms

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A hazard to human rights: autonomous weapons systems and digital decision-making.

Image
Featuring a presentation of a new report by Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic, and speakers from Stop Killer Robots , Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, this side event will examine the human rights implications of autonomous weapons systems and the urgent need for a legally binding instrument containing prohibitions on both antipersonnel systems and systems that do not allow for meaningful human control , alongside other regulations to govern the design, development, and use of other autonomous weapons systems . The side event will additionally explore examples and impacts of component technologies such as remote biometric surveillance and predictive tools, already in use, and the implications of their use within autonomous weapons systems on human rights . Watch a hazard to human rights: autonomous weapons systems and digital decision-making!
Read more

(3rd plenary meeting) Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Image
Adopted in 2017 and having entered into force in 2020, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons includes a comprehensive set of prohibitions on participating in any nuclear weapon activities, as well as positive obligations related, inter alia, to victim and affected communities. The third Meeting of States will bring together States Parties and observers, including governments, international organizations and civil society. The third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 3 to 7 March 2025 Watch the (3rd plenary meeting) Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons!
Read more

What is an arms broker and what are arms brokering activities?

Image
Brokers can play an important role in facilitating or acting as intermediaries in the legitimate conventional arms trade . The phenomenon of individuals and companies facilitating and arranging arms deals between states and between states and arms producers – for example, bringing sellers and buyers together – is not new. However, since the 1990s, and particularly in conflicts in Angola and West Africa, high-profile cases and popular culture have raised greater awareness of arms brokering . This applies in particular to the way in which some unscrupulous brokers are actively engaged in the diversion and illicit trade inconventional arms , including small arms and light weapons (SALW) , and ammunition to or between unauthorized (end-) users – including criminals, pirates, non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and groups listed as terrorist groups  and their procurement networks. The fact that such entities were not explicitly controlled or regulated by modern transfer control systems...
Read more