The 2021 Report

Chapter 1 takes an in-depth look at stockpile management as a key mechanism for addressing the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW) and highlights synergies between ATT provisions and other global arms control frameworks. It then explores the nature and dynamics of stockpile management practices in Sub-Saharan Africa as the region engages with past and present arms control norms.

The chapter seeks to promote a nuanced understanding of gaps in stockpile management practices and policies that are illustrated in a case study that highlights challenges faced by Ghana in establishing and implementing these systems.

Chapter 2.1 evaluates five years of ATT annual reporting data, looking at the degree to which annual reporting by States Parties is meaningfully transparent and whether it has contributed to transparency in line with the Treaty’s object and purpose. This chapter examines two different aspects of reporting. First, it assesses whether States Parties have met the requirement set out in Article 13.3 to submit timely ATT annual reports. Second, it assesses the degree to which the information provided in those reports contributes positively to meaningful transparency in the global arms trade.

Chapter 2.2 offers reflections on five years of ATT initial reporting. It examines trends in reporting compliance and provides a snapshot of progress made towards Treaty implementation based on publicly available information as provided by States Parties in their initial report. The chapter concludes by looking at enduring challenges to ATT reporting and considerations of how such challenges impact treaty implementation.

Chapter 3.1 takes an in-depth look at 2019 ATT annual reports. It includes an overall analysis of reporting practices, comparing 2018 and 2019 ATT annual reports. This identifies changes in reporting practices and assesses whether inconsistencies and gaps identified in the ATT Monitor analysis of 2018 annual reports were resolved in 2019 reports.

Chapter 3.2 includes country profiles for each State Party obliged to submit a 2019 ATT annual report. Each profile provides data on key reporting practice metrics (public reporting, timely reporting, withholding security information), as well as a summary of areas of good reporting practice and areas for improvement. The profiles also contain a summary of transfers reported by each State Party, focusing on basic comparable information such as number and status of export/import partners.

Chapter 4.1 includes a summary assessment of 2020 annual reports submitted within one week of the 2021. It is anticipated that more States Parties will submit their report in the window between the legal deadline of 31 May and the beginning of CSP7. As such, this analysis will be expanded in next year’s ATT Monitor report.

Chapter 4.2 includes a summary assessment of initial reports and updates to them submitted by States Parties as of 7 June 2021. From this assessment comes an analysis of reporting

non-compliance, highlighting challenges States Parties face in fulfilling reporting obligations and the efforts of the WGTR and ATT Secretariat to address them.