Arms Trade Treaty

Working Group on Effective Treaty Implementation

Geneva, 20-21 February 2024

EU Key Messages                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Mr. Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania[1], Republic of Moldova and Georgia as well as the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

Sub-working Group on Articles 6&7

We welcome draft elements of Chapter 3 of a Voluntary Guide, and appreciate all work of the facilitators so far.

The list of considerations is both relevant and exhaustive. At the same time, we would like to put emphasis on certain elements which would benefit from early discussion and prioritization in multi-year workplan of the Sub-working group, such as:

• confidence building in relationship between exporting and importing States;
• information sharing among States and relevant stakeholders;
• toolbox of mitigating measures and methods of overseeing their impact.

There are a number of reasons for such approach:

• The EU can see, also through our internal experience, that trust and confidence between States is a crucial factor to simplify risk assessment and reduce administrative burden.
• Information and knowledge sharing is key to implement the Treaty. This can be supported by establishing shared databases - regionally, or in any effective configuration of States, in the spirit of Article 15.
• Ability to consult internally and internationally States and relevant stakeholders is crucial in establishing efficient base for risk assessment, including diversion. Access to multiple sources of information can also facilitate verification and build confidence vis-à-vis trusted sources.

The topic of composition of national systems may be taken later in the process. The EU supports “no-size-fits-all” approach and flexibility. Effectiveness is an important consideration for arms transfers control, and this could be achieved using various models, dependent on State administration structure and size of arms industry and exports. In the EU, Member States employ national structures, using common criteria for assessment.

The EU is looking forward to a fruitful discussion.

Sub-working Group on Exchange of National Implementation Practices

We welcome a draft multi-year work plan for the WGETI Sub-working Group on Exchange of National Implementation Practices. In terms of sequencing of topics, the list is relevant and follows logical order.

We support in particular the idea of involving Voluntary Trust Fund beneficiary States into giving presentations about implementation stages and sharing their implementation experiences for the potential benefit of others. We encourage such States to actively engage in order to showcase their political commitment.

Since implementation of the Treaty is a national responsibility, any assistance that can be provided to States in this regard is both desirable and useful. Therefore, we are of the view that "international cooperation and assistance" as a cross-cutting theme will merit our prime consideration. We stress that it is important to identify early the opportunities for improvement, so that supporting States could better assess their assistance.

Addressing national control system and inter-agency cooperation issues as one of the first topics to be discussed within this group will give States Parties an opportunity to share experience and their national practices. Special attention should be given also to other topics, which will be discussed at a later stage of work of this group, such as information management and enforcement arrangements.

The EU thanks Romanian Presidency for its presentation on its national practice on inter-agency coordination and for bringing this topic to the ATT discussions as a chosen priority theme. Such awareness and potential lessons learnt for national implementation would be beneficial for effective Treaty implementation.

Sub-working Group on Current and Emerging Implementation Issues

The EU thanks Panama for assuming the role of a facilitator of this newly created sub-working group and is looking forward to having in-depth discussions within this group.

The role of industry

While only States are legally bound by Treaty provisions, recognising the role and responsibilities of industry and private sector in the arms trade is important to pursue discussion within the Treaty and assure its effective implementation. The EU considers it important to follow up on the decisions taken at CSP9 and their ongoing implementation. In the implementation of ATT obligations, States need to recognize the role of industry and the private sector and consider their responsibilities as well as measures to ensure that transfers are made responsibly.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and human rights due diligence offer a good basis to enhance out Treaty implementation efforts. We welcome an exchange of views on national efforts, best practices awareness raising programmes and other forms of providing guidance.

Gender-based violence

Protecting women and girls from gender-based violence (GBV) has long been a vital priority for the EU in all disarmament fora. Sharing national practices in GBV risk assessment will facilitate knowledge exchange and spark initiative for other States to engage in similar practices. The EU looks forward to exploring these issues in depth, furthering discussions within this Sub-working group.

[1] North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.