The 2023 Report

Chapter 1 summarizes how conventional ammunition is covered by the ATT and provides a brief analysis of the main gaps in how the Treaty addresses ammunition. It then focuses on one specific area of control – conventional ammunition diversion – by presenting several case studies that highlight some ways in which ammunition may be diverted. It also explores some of the measures that States Parties could take to attempt to prevent or mitigate such diversion. The chapter concludes with recommendations for how to address conventional ammunition within the current Treaty architecture, including the recently established Diversion Information Exchange Forum.

Chapter 2.1 provides an in-depth look at 2021 ATT annual reports. It examines States Parties’ compliance with Article 13.3 reporting obligations and reporting that contributes to the transparency aims and objectives of the Treaty as well as to a higher standard of transparency. It shows that, while some States Parties have shown themselves to be committed to public reporting, the lack of meaningfully transparent reporting by many others is a matter of concern as reporting is vital to the implementation of the Treaty.

Chapter 2.2 includes country profiles for each State Party required to submit a 2021 ATT annual report. Each profile provides data on key reporting-practice metrics (public reporting, on-time 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 3.1 includes a summary assessment of 2022 annual reports submitted on or before the reporting deadline. It is anticipated that more States Parties will submit their report between the legal deadline of 31 May and the beginning of CSP9. Therefore, this analysis will be expanded in next year’s ATT Monitor report.

Chapter 3.2 includes a summary assessment of initial reports and updates to them submitted by States Parties as of 7 June 2023. From this assessment comes an analysis of reporting noncompliance, highlighting challenges States Parties face in fulfilling reporting obligations and the efforts of the WGTR and ATT Secretariat to address them. The chapter also presents some examples of how States Parties have described in their initial reports their relationship with arms industry, the theme of the CSP9 Presidency