Arms Trade Treaty monitor says fewer than 40% report on time

The Arms Trade Treaty monitor said countries are failing to report the weapons they buy and sell, with fewer than 40 percent of member states submitting their 2025 reports on time.

Alexandra Marksteiner, a member of the ATT Monitor team, told a press conference in Geneva that 46 countries filed their 2025 reports by the deadline.

The treaty, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013, aims to regulate the international flow of conventional weapons and curb illicit trade. Its 118 member states must assess before any transaction whether weapons risk circumventing an embargo, being diverted to criminals or violating human rights.

Member states are supposed to submit annual reports on imports and exports of conventional weapons, ranging from pistols to missiles, aircraft and warships.

The monitor said the decline in transparent reporting and publicly available information showed wider problems in the global arms trade, calling it particularly distressing during increasing military expenditure, escalating conflict and diminishing peace.

The monitor also said the treaty was under strain and that regional peace, security and stability were arguably at their lowest levels since the treaty entered into force in 2014.

The United States, the world's leading arms supplier, signed the treaty under former president Barack Obama, but Congress has never ratified it. China joined the treaty in 2020.