Global Coalition for Limitation of Armaments participated with an oral intervention on “the effective implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty in accordance with Articles 6, 7, 9, and 11 in the 2nd Preparatory process for the Eighth Conference of States Parties (CSP8) to the Arms Trade Treaty ATT.
The Global Coalition for Limitation of Armaments stressed, in its intervention, that under the Conventional Arms Trade Treaty, the states parties or signatories to the treaty must abide by the provisions of Articles 6, 7, 9, and 11 that they must not authorize the transfer of conventional weapons, knowing in advance their use in human rights violations, and that the state should not authorize any transfers of conventional arms provided for in the Treaty if the transfer would violate the obligations of states under the measures taken by the UN Security Council, acting in accordance with Chapter VII of the UN Charter, in particular the arms embargo measures.
However, the actual reality proves otherwise, as the states party to the treaty and the arms exporters did not abide by the items signed by them when selling weapons to states, especially in areas of armed conflict. Although the countries exporting arms to the State of Israel are quite sure that Israel will use these weapons against Palestinian civilians, they have enabled and facilitated military exports to Israel, which, in turn, helped perpetuate the apartheid regime and the Israeli settlement in Palestine for decades. The grave human rights violations committed as a result of arms exports to Israel can be clearly seen in the brutal Israeli military aggression on Gaza, which began in May 2021. Over the course of 11 days, 248 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children, in addition to the destruction of thousands of homes and properties protected by international law.
Many countries have also violated the United Nations resolutions banning the supply of arms to areas of armed conflict. In Yemen, for example, the illegal transfer of arms and violation of the arms embargo contributed to prolonging the conflict. UN report showed evidence of Iran smuggling weapons to Yemen by sea, which is one of the most important ways in which arms flow to the Houthis. The United Nations evidence indicated that the Iranian port of Jask is the main source through which arms are smuggled to the Houthis, those weapons that encouraged the Houthis to transfer the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Issa to bases for launching piracy operations, planting naval mines and threatening the international shipping route near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, as well as using them to commit grave violations of international humanitarian law against Yemeni civilians.
Finally, the Global Coalition for Limitation of Armaments recommended the need to put in place a monitoring and enforcement mechanism that provides for a prompt, impartial and transparent investigation of alleged violations of the Arms Trade Treaty, the appropriate penalties for those held accountable, the prevention of irresponsible transfers of conventional arms and consideration of the potential use of weapons in the commission of serious acts of violence due to gender considerations or acts of violence against women and children.
The coalition also called for the importance of controlling the arms trade, especially in areas where armed conflict is prevalent, and activating arms transit controls where irresponsible transfers of arms can destabilize an entire region, allowing violations of the arms embargo and contributing to human rights violations.
Notably, the Global Coalition for Limitation of Armaments includes civil society organizations from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America to mobilize and promote international agreements and treaties to limit arms proliferation.
English 
العربية