ATT MONITOR REPORT 2016

The ATT Monitor 2016 report reviews the first year of the Arms Trade Treaty as international law, noting a rise in membership to 82 States Parties as of June 1, 2016. It highlights a significant gap between procedural progress and substantive compliance, particularly regarding arms transfers to conflict zones like Yemen. The report provides a detailed analysis of African states' engagement, the development of a 'Risk Watch' tool to monitor weapon misuse, and an evaluation of the first tranche of Initial and Annual Transfer Reports, noting inconsistent reporting rates and a lack of transparency in several regions.

• Between May 31, 2015, and May 31, 2016, the ATT saw 14 ratifications and two accessions, bringing the total to 82 States Parties and 52 Signatories as of June 1, 2016.
• Universalization of the treaty is geographically uneven; while membership is high in Western Europe (24 of 27 countries), it remains low in Asia (5 of 56) and Africa (19 of 54).
• Despite treaty obligations, nine States Parties (France, Germany, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK) and two Signatories (Turkey and the US) completed arms sales to Saudi Arabia in 2015 totaling over US$25 billion, despite evidence of IHL and IHRL violations in Yemen.
• African countries' imports of major conventional weapons increased by 19 per cent between the 20062010 and 20112015 periods, with the continent's share of the global arms trade rising to 8 per cent.
• Transparency in Africa is very low; 93 per cent of African states failed to submit any report to the UN Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) between 2010 and 2015.
• The report identifies a 'grey-market' in Africa where officially authorized transfers are diverted to unauthorized end-users or used illegally, often due to poor stockpile management.
• The ATT Monitor developed the 'Risk Watch' tool to synthesize public expert data on weapon misuse, focusing on indicators such as attacks on civilian objects, education facilities, and medical personnel to guide State Parties' risk assessments.
• Of the 63 States Parties expected to submit Initial Reports by May 31, 2016, 47 (75 per cent) did so, with 44 making them public.
• Annual Transfer Report compliance was lower than Initial Report compliance, with only 32 of 63 expected reports (50 per cent) submitted on time by May 31, 2016.
• The report clarifies that armed drones are covered by the ATT because the UNROCA definition of combat aircraft does not require the aircraft to be 'manned'.
• Shotguns are considered within the scope of the ATT under the general definition of small arms and light weapons as 'man-portable lethal weapon[s]'.
• The report notes that the term 'overriding risk' in Article 7 is not an established concept in international law and is subject to varying interpretations by States Parties, such as New Zealand's use of 'substantial risk'.

APA

Peace Research Institute Oslo (2016). ATT MONITOR REPORT 2016. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/abd30163-51fe-4fec-91a5-77a54959d945/ATT Monitor 2016.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Peace Research Institute Oslo. ATT MONITOR REPORT 2016. 2016. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/abd30163-51fe-4fec-91a5-77a54959d945/ATT Monitor 2016.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Peace Research Institute Oslo |title=ATT MONITOR REPORT 2016 |date=22 August 2016 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/abd30163-51fe-4fec-91a5-77a54959d945/ATT Monitor 2016.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{peaceresearchinstituteoslo2016att, author = {{Peace Research Institute Oslo}}, title = {{ATT MONITOR REPORT 2016}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2016}, month = aug, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/abd30163-51fe-4fec-91a5-77a54959d945/ATT Monitor 2016.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }