The Arms Trade Treaty: An Indian perspective

It is an absurd and deadly reality that there are currently global rules governing the trade of fruit and dinosaur bones, but not ones for the trade of guns and tanks. A global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) would help to prevent irresponsible arms transfers that fuel and sustain conflict, destroy lives and undermine development.

As states at the United Nations convene this month to negotiate just such a treaty this issue brief sets out the evolution of the ATT by exploring the major historical developments leading up to the negotiations in the United Nations.

The paper then goes on to assess the Indian position on the ATT and its content by studying the statements made by the government of India in the UN during the various occasions where the ATT was discussed and debated. It explores India’s position on key issues such as scope, universal acceptance, self defence, implementation and record keeping.

This issue brief was produced by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with Saferworld.

“India's emphasis would remain on an ATT which could be implemented using national administrative and legal frameworks”

Rahul Prakash - Observer Research Foundation