Launch of the 2026 ATT Monitor Annual Report

Read the 2026 ATT Monitor Report via this link: https://attmonitor.org/en/the-2026-report.

On 24 August 2026, the ATT Monitor launched its ATT Monitor Annual Report during a side event on the margins of the Twelfth Conference of States Parties (CSP12) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

The event was chaired by H.E. Robert in den Bosch, Disarmament Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Geneva.

Ms. Tscholofelo Tscheolo, Deputy Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations Office at Geneva and President of CSP12, provided opening remarks. She praised the contribution of civil society organizations and highlighted the ATT Monitor’s role in strengthening transparency, reporting, and compliance with the Treaty. In her remarks, Ms. Tscheolo stressed that transparent reporting is essential to accountability and responsibility in the global arms trade, and called on civil society to remain engaged in advancing the ATT Strategy and advocating for the effective implementation of the Treaty.

Dr. Andrea Edoardo Varisco, Project Lead of the ATT Monitor, provided an overview of the 2026 ATT Monitor Annual Report and discussed the status of universalization and compliance with
the ATT. Two States, Ecuador and Vanuatu, became ATT States Parties between 2025 and 2026, bringing the total number of States Parties to 118.

The subsequent part of the launch event focused on the report’s thematic chapter, entitled “The Arms Trade Treaty and Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA): Considerations for Risk Assessment.” Ms. Liubov Hutsol, Advocacy and Communications Senior Officer at Humanity & Inclusion in Ukraine, discussed the impact of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Ukraine, including extensive civilian casualties, the destruction of critical infrastructure, displacement and the disruption of essential services.

Ms. Laura Boillot, Director of Article 36 and one of the authors of the thematic chapter, explained how the legally-binding Arms Trade Treaty and the political EWIPA Declaration complement each other in preventing civilian harm. A total of 81 States are either Parties or Signatories of the ATT and have endorsed the EWIPA Political Declaration. Ms. Boillot argued that documented patterns of use of explosive weapons in populated areas, civilian harm, accountability gaps, and conflict escalation signals must be integrated into forward-looking ATT Article 7 export risk assessments to strengthen coherence between ATT implementation and the EWIPA framework. She called on States to incorporate EWIPA considerations into export control guidance, reassess risks as circumstances change, publish the reasoning behind export decisions, align national policies, and align ATT and EWIPA implementation processes.

Ms. Alexandra Marksteiner, Research Associate at the ATT Monitor, then presented the main findings from the Monitor’s analysis of the 2024 annual reports. She noted that 77 States Parties submitted an annual report for 2024 by the Monitor’s internal cut-off date of 1 February 2026. This represents a decrease in the reporting rate compared to 2023; however, this is mainly due to the submission of overdue reports since the publication of the last ATT Monitor Annual Report. Ms. Marksteiner pointed out that only 26 States Parties (23 per cent of reports due) submitted annual reports for 2024 that were sufficiently detailed to be considered meaningfully transparent. This is the lowest level since the Treaty entered into force. On the other hand, she highlighted that 16 States Parties (14 per cent) provided information that goes beyond the required minimum, and thereby contributed to a higher standard of transparency. She commended Peru for being the most transparent reporter in 2024. Ms. Marksteiner also listed some common pitfalls and best practices in the preparation of annual reports.

Ms. Rachel Stohl, Acting President and CEO of the Stimson Center, provided an update on the status of initial and annual reports. She explained that 81% of States Parties required to submit an initial report have done so; however, only seven have provided updated initial reports by the time of publication of the 2026 ATT Monitor Annual Report. She also provided an initial overview of the 2025 annual reports, noting that 46 States Parties had submitted their annual report on-time. This corresponds to an on-time compliance rate of 40 per cent – a decrease compared to the previous year. Three States Parties (Central African Republic, Guyana, and Togo) submitted their first annual reports ever.

The launch event concluded with questions from the audience.

Special thanks to the Government of Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands for supporting the production and dissemination of the 2026 ATT Monitor Report.