The ATT Monitor Arms Transfers Dashboard, developed by the ATT Monitor, is a civil society-based global resource that provides independent analysis and information on the transfers of conventional arms reported in public annual reports to the Arms Trade Treaty Secretariat. As a comprehensive and openly accessible dataset on the international arms trade, the ATT Monitor Arms Transfers Dashboard continuously builds on the findings from public annual reports submitted by States Parties to the ATT. Utilizing the PowerBI platform, the Dashboard visually represents the distribution, dimensions, and dynamics of the arms trade. Its primary aim is to offer independent analysis and insights, supplementing and expanding upon baseline assessments conducted in previous reports and on the analysis conducted annually in the ATT Monitor report. 

The ATT Monitor Arms Transfers Dashboard draws its dataset from the annual reports submitted to the ATT by States Parties. The dataset includes details on the types of arms transferred, exporting/final importing states, and number of arms.

While the ATT Monitor Arms Transfers Dashboard relies on the annual reports submitted to the ATT for its dataset, there are inherent challenges in developing a dataset on arms transfers.  ATT State Parties may categorize and report data on arms transfers differently, leading to variations in reporting standards and practices. The ATT Monitor Arms Transfers Dashboard remains transparent about the sources of its data, including any limitations related to coverage and accuracy. Users are encouraged to review the FAQs section for detailed information on the dataset’s completeness and potential inaccuracies.

The ATT Monitor Arms Transfers Dashboard currently displays only the number of units transferred. It does not show the corresponding financial values due to differences in exchange rates and also because it is optional for States Parties to provide information about values. Additionally, in some cases where a State Party only included final values, the Dashboard does not show its transfers. Confidential transfers are included in the dashboard with a 0. Absence of information should not be regarded as evidence that transfers have not taken place. Even though the information comes from official government sources, in many cases it can be incomplete and only offers a partial snapshot of the arms trade. For instance, according to Article 13.3 of the ATT, ‘reports may exclude commercially sensitive or national security information’. Users should bear this in mind when discovering that imports do not always correlate with exports (or vice versa). The ATT Monitor did not verify with each State Party whether the transfers reported are accurate.