ATT CSP10 - EU Statement on Treaty Universalisation

EU Statement

Treaty Universalisation

Arms Trade Treaty

Tenth Conference of States Parties

Geneva, 19-23 August 2024

Mr. President,

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

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

The European Union welcomes the deposit of an accession instrument by the Gambia and a ratification instrument by Malawi, to become 114^th and 115^th States Parties in the coming months. While this is evidence of positive dynamics and momentum, significant effort remains necessary to reinvigorate universalisation, which over the last few years has lost much of its impetus.

We encourage States which have already signed the ATT to pursue ratification and national implementation. Countries which play a leading role in the arms trade, whether exporters, importers, or transit countries, are invited to join the Treaty, given, among other things, the potential political visibility of their commitment as well as the impact on ensuring the highest possible international standards for regulating the international trade in conventional arms.

The EU and its Member States continue to pursue actively ATT universalisation through EU outreach programmes and in bilateral dialogues. The 3^rd phase of the ATT Outreach Project funded by the EU, and implemented by BAFA and Expertise France, explicitly focusses on outreach to States that are not yet party to the Treaty. In the same vein, the EU outreach programme on the promotion of effective arms export controls, currently closing its 6^th iteration and about to be extended, covers Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and Southern Neighbourhood of the EU. We believe that a solid national framework for arms export controls will effectively bring those States closer to the purpose and objective of the ATT, and in the future will hopefully prompt decisions to jointhe Treaty.

In our own outreach work, we employ both individual and regional approaches, in a number of cases supported by the ATT Secretariat, which work hand in hand with our implementing agents. Individually, a comprehensive and effective outreach should include both high-level political dialogue and working-level familiarisation workshops and technical assistance activities for implementing agencies. In the latter area, we would like to emphasise the role of study visits hosted by EU Member States.

The European Union wishes to express appreciation to WGTU Co-Chairs - Ambassador Răzvan Rusu of Romania and Ambassador Seong-mee Yoon of the Republic of Korea for their work.We welcome the draft and support the adoption of the work plan and the list of practical questions on ratification, accession, and domestication.

We welcome the commitment of the ATT Secretariat to liaise with regional organisations and stakeholders to avoid duplication of efforts. The EU reaffirms its openness and commitment to cooperate with the ATT Secretariat and WGTU Co-Chairs and to contribute to focussed universalisation efforts on the Asia-Pacific States. In that region, the EU already assists Thailand, which is an ATT Signatory State. Decisions taken by this CSP will be an important guideline for the EU as it plans for a new 4th phase of its ATT Outreach Project, starting in February 2025. We also call upon States Parties from Asia-Pacific to join universalisation efforts using their bilateral and regional leverage, and to support available financial instruments that can facilitate universalisation.

We believe that a structured approach to universalisation should cover all aspects and phases of the process, from exploring reasons for a given country to stay out of the ATT, through stimulating long-term political will to accede and commit national resources to standing implementation, then guidance through legal aspects of accession and domestication, and assistance, if necessary, in building sustainable capacities to implement the ATT, including reporting. Political outreach has a better chance to succeed when combined with an offer including clear vision of benefits, guidance and assistance, to follow a multi-year work plan and to use a set of objective and realistic benchmarks to measure progress.

Similarly, we would like to stress the importance of a regional dimension, with neighbouring countries implementing similar controls to bring benefits in real terms in fighting arms trafficking and cross-border organised crime in general, which often could be tackled effectively only by cross-border cooperation and eliminating the legal and operational vacuum. Neighbouring countries are also better placed to provide peer-to-peer advice suited to local conditions, and regional activities serve to create working relationships and trust among counterparts from participating States.

The EU is ready to contribute further to ATT outreach, with a view to seeking synergies and utilising international assistance from multiple sources in the most effective way.

In this regard, we invite all interested States and other stakeholders to a side-event organised on Wednesday 21 September, during the intersession break, jointly by BAFA and Expertise France on ATT Outreach Programme-Phase III, focussing on assuring continuity and measuring progress of ATT Assistance Measures.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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

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