A/RES/71/50 GA

United Nations A/RES/71/50 General Assembly Distr.: General 12 December 2016 Seventy-first session Agenda item 98 (ff) 16-21058 (E) *1621058* Please recycle Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 5 December 2016 [on the report of the First Committee (A/71/450)] 71/50. The Arms Trade Treaty The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 61/89 of 6 December 2006, 63/240 of 24 December 2008, 64/48 of 2 December 2009, 67/234 A of 24 December 2012, 67/234 B of 2 April 2013, 68/31 of 5 December 2013, 69/49 of 2 December 2014 and 70/58 of 7 December 2015 and its decision 66/518 of 2 December 2011, Recognizing that disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation are essential for the maintenance of international peace and security, Recognizing also the security, social, economic and humanitarian consequences of the illicit and unregulated trade in conventional arms, Recognizing further the legitimate political, security, economic and commercial interests of States in the international trade in conventional arms, Underlining the need to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms and to prevent their diversion to the illicit market, or for unauthorized end use and end users, including the commission of terrorist acts, Noting the contribution made by the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, 1 as well as the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 2 and the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons,3 Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 4 including Sustainable Development Goal 16, which, inter alia, aims at significantly reducing illicit arms flows by 2030, _______________ 1 Report of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, New York, 9–20 July 2001 (A/CONF.192/15), chap. IV, para. 24. 2 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2326, No. 39574. 3 See decision 60/519 and A/60/88 and Corr.2, annex. 4 Resolution 70/1. A/RES/71/50 The Arms Trade Treaty 2/3 Recognizing the important role that civil society organizations, including non-governmental organizations, and industry play, by raising awareness, in efforts to prevent and eradicate the unregulated and illicit trade in conventional arms and prevent their diversion and in supporting the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty,5 Welcoming the adoption by the General Assembly and the entry into force of the Treaty on 2 April 2013 and 24 December 2014, respectively, and noting that the Treaty remains open for accession by any State that has not signed it, Noting the efforts by the States parties to the Treaty to continue exploring ways and means to enhance national implementation of the Treaty through the ad hoc working group on implementation, 1. Welcomes the decisions taken at the Second Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, held in Geneva from 22 to 26 August 2016, and notes that the Third Conference of States Parties will be held in Geneva from 11 to 15 September 2017; 2. Also welcomes the establishment of the ad hoc working group on implementation, the working group on transparency and reporting and the working group on universalization by the Second Conference of States Parties as important steps in advancing the object and purpose of the Arms Trade Treaty;5 3. Recognizes that the consolidation of the institutional structure of the Treaty provides a framework for supporting further work under the Treaty, in particular on its effective implementation; 4. Calls upon all States that have not yet done so to ratify, accept, approve or accede to the Treaty, according to their respective constitutional processes; 5. Calls upon those States parties in a position to do so to provide assistance, including legal or legislative assistance, institutional capacity-building and technical, material or financial assistance, to requesting States in order to promote the universalization of the Treaty; 6. Stresses the vital importance of the full and effective implementation of and compliance with all provisions of the Treaty by States parties, and urges them to meet their obligations under the Treaty; 7. Recognizes the complementarity among all relevant international instruments on conventional arms and the Treaty, and to this end urges all States to implement effective national measures to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit and unregulated trade in conventional arms in fulfilment of their respective international obligations and commitments; 8. Encourages all States parties to make available their initial report, as well as their first annual report for the preceding calendar year, as required under article 13 of the Treaty, thereby enhancing confidence, transparency, trust and accountability, and notes the endorsement by the Second Conference of States Parties of templates that may facilitate the reporting task; 9. Welcomes the establishment of a voluntary trust fund for the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty by the Second Conference of States Parties, and encourages all States parties in a position to do so to contribute to the trust fund; _______________ 5 See resolution 67/234 B. The Arms Trade Treaty A/RES/71/50 3/3 10. Encourages States parties and signatory States in a position to do so to provide financial assistance, through a voluntary sponsorship fund, that could contribute to meeting the costs of participation in meetings under the Treaty for those States that would otherwise be unable to attend; 11. Encourages States parties to strengthen their cooperation with civil society, including non-governmental organizations, industry and relevant international organizations and to work with other States parties at the national and regional levels, with the aim of ensuring the effective implementation of the Treaty; 12. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-second session, under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”, the sub-item entitled “The Arms Trade Treaty”, and to review the implementation of the present resolution at that session. 51st plenary meeting 5 December 2016

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