The Arms Trade Treaty

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Extensions

China

Belgium

03-06-2013

This signature engages also the Walloon Region, the Flemish Region and the Brussels-Capital Region.

China

06-07-2020

In accordance with the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, the Government of the People’s Republic of China decides that the Treaty applies to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

Denmark

02-04-2014

The Treaty shall not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland until further notice.

Israel

29-03-2018

The Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations presents its compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his capacity as depositary of the Arms Trade Treaty, dated 2 April 2013, and has the honor to refer to the Palestinian request to accede to this Treaty (Reference number C.N.811.2017.TREATIES-XXVI.8).
‘Palestine’ does not satisfy the criteria for statehood under international law and lacks the legal capacity to join the aforesaid Treaty both under general international law and the terms of bilateral Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
The Government of Israel does not recognize ‘Palestine’ as a State, and wishes to place on record, for the sake of clarity, its position that it does not consider ‘Palestine’ a party to the Treaty and regards the Palestinian request for accession as being without legal validity and without effect upon Israel’s treaty relations under the Treaty.

Kazakhstan

08-12-2017

The Republic of Kazakhstan, recognizing the object and purpose of the Treaty and notwithstanding Article 28 of the Treaty, declares that in the application of the Treaty the term “перенаправление” (diversion) in Article 13, paragraph 2 of the Treaty in Russian shall be understood as “незаконное перенаправление” (illegal diversion).

Liechtenstein

16-12-2014

It is the understanding of Liechtenstein that the terms "export", "import", "transit", "transshipment" and "brokering" in Article 2, paragraph 2, include, in light of the object and purpose of this Treaty and in accordance with their ordinary meaning, monetary or non-monetary transactions, such as gifts, loans and leases, and that therefore these activities fall under the scope of this Treaty.
It is the understanding of Liechtenstein that the term "grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes as defined by international agreements to which it is a party" in Article 6, paragraph 3, encompasses acts committed in international and in non-international armed conflicts, and includes, among others, serious violations of Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949; as well as, for States Parties to the relevant agreements, war crimes as described in the Hague Convention IV of 1907 and its Regulations, the Additional Protocols of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of 1998.
It is the understanding of Liechtenstein that the term "knowledge" in Article 6, paragraph 3, in light of the object and purpose of this Treaty and in accordance with its ordinary meaning, implies that the State Party concerned shall not authorise the transfer if it has reliable information providing substantial grounds to believe that the arms or items would be used in the commission of the crimes listed.
It is the understanding of Liechtenstein that the term "overriding risk" in Article 7, paragraph 3, encompasses, in light of the object and purpose of this Treaty and in accordance with the ordinary meaning of all equally authentic language versions of this term in this Treaty, an obligation not to authorise the export whenever the State Party concerned determines that any of the negative consequences set out in paragraph 1 are more likely to materialise than not, even after the expected effect of any mitigating measures has been considered.
It is the understanding of Liechtenstein that Article 26, paragraph 2, seeks to ensure that in a private law dispute, this Treaty cannot be relied upon as a reason to declare as invalid existing or future international defence cooperation agreements concluded between States Parties, and as a consequence, this Treaty remains applicable for any State Party in disregard of obligations under a defence cooperation agreement, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969.

New Zealand

02-09-2014

[...] consistent with the constitutional status of Tokelau and taking into account the commitment of the Government of New Zealand to the development of self-government for Tokelau through an act of self-determination under the Charter of the United Nations, [the] ratification [of the Arms Trade Treaty] shall not extend to Tokelau unless and until a Declaration to this effect is lodged by the Government of New Zealand with the depository on the basis of appropriate consultation with that territory [...]

02-09-2014

[...] the Government of New Zealand [...] declares that it considers that the reference to "ammunitions/munitions" in Article 3 of the Treaty means "ammunition and munitions" and that accordingly the scope of the Treaty includes both ammunition and munitions fired, launched or delivered by the conventional arms covered under Article 2(1);
and declares that it considers the reference to "grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes as defined by international agreements to which it is a Party" in Article 6(3), encompasses acts committed in international and in non-international armed conflict, and includes serious violations of Common Article 3 to the Geneva Convention of 1949 as well as, for States Parties to the relevant agreements, war crimes as described in the Hague Convention IV of 1907 and its Regulations, the Additional Protocols of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;
and declares that it considers the effect of the term "overriding risk" in Article 7(3) is to require that it decline to authorize any export where it is determined that there is a substantial risk of any of the negative consequences in Article 7(1);
and declares that it considers that where a non-monetary transaction, such as a gift, loan or lease, involves the transfer or arms or items within the scope of the Treaty, such transaction will be covered by the Treaty;
and declares that it considers that the Treaty does not place any further restrictions on the international movement of small arms for legitimate recreational and sporting activities where there is no change in ownership of these arms;
and declares that it considers that all obligations in the Treaty relating to transit and transshipment of arms or items within the scope of the Treaty must be read in the light of Article 9 [...]

Palestine

18-03-2019

The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations presents his compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his capacity as Depositary, and has the honor to refer to depositary notification C.N.187.2018.TREATIES-XXVI.8, dated 4 April 2018, conveying a communication of Israel regarding the accession of the State of Palestine to the Arms Trade Treaty, 2 April 2013.
The Government of the State of Palestine regrets the position of Israel and wishes to recall the United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012 according to which Palestine was accorded a ‘Non-member Observer State status in the United Nations’. In this regard, Palestine is a State recognized by the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of the international community.
As a State Party to the Arms Trade Treaty, 2 April 2013, which entered into force on 29 March 2018 for the State of Palestine, the State of Palestine will exercise its rights and honor its obligations with respect to all States Parties. The State of Palestine trusts that its rights and obligations will be equally respected by its fellow States Parties.

Switzerland

30-01-2015

[...] It is the understanding of Switzerland that the terms "export", "import", "transit", "transshipment" and "brokering" in Article 2, paragraph 2, include, in the light of the object and purpose of this Treaty and in accordance with their ordinary meaning, monetary or non-monetary transactions, such as gifts, loans and leases, and that therefore these activities fall within the scope of this Treaty.
It is the understanding of Switzerland that the term "grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes as defined by international agreements to which it is a Party" in article 6, paragraph 3, encompasses acts committed in international and in non-international armed conflicts, and includes, among others, serious violations of Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949; as well as, for States Parties to the relevant agreements, war crimes as described in the Hague Convention IV of 1907 and its Regulations, the Additional Protocols of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of 1998.
It is the understanding of Switzerland that the term "knowledge" in Article 6, paragraph 3, in the light of the object and purpose of this Treaty and in accordance with its ordinary meaning, implies that the State Party concerned shall not authorize the transfer if it has reliable information providing substantial grounds to believe that the arms or items would be used in the commission of the crimes listed.
It is the understanding of Switzerland that the term "overriding risk" in Article 7, paragraph 3, encompasses, in the light of the object and purpose of this Treaty and in accordance with the ordinary meaning of all equally authentic language versions of this term in this Treaty, an obligation not to authorize the export whenever the State Party concerned determines that any of the negative consequences set out paragraph 1 are more likely to materialize than not, even after the expected effect of any mitigating measures has been considered.
It is the understanding of Switzerland that Article 26, paragraph 2, seeks to ensure that in a private law dispute, this Treaty cannot be relied upon as a reason to declare as invalid existing or future international defence cooperation agreements concluded between States Parties, and as a consequence, this Treaty remains applicable for any State Party in disregard of obligations under a defence cooperation agreement, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969.

United States of America

18-07-2019

This is to inform you, in connection with the Arms Trade Treaty, done at New York on April 2, 2013, that the United States does not intend to become a party to the treaty. Accordingly, the United States has no legal obligations arising from its signature on September 25, 2013.
The United States requests that its intention not to become a party, as expressed in this letter, be reflected in the depositary’s status lists relating to this treaty, and all other publicly available media relating to the treaty be updated to reflect this intention not to become a party.