United Nations
The Arms Trade Treaty
Preamble
The States Parties to this Treaty,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Recalling Article 26 of the Charter of the United Nations which seeks to
promote the establishment and maintenance of internatio nal peace and security with
the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources,
Underlining the need to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional
arms and to prevent their diversion to the illicit market, or for u nauthorized end use
and end users, including in the commission of terrorist acts,
Recognizing the legitimate political, security, economic and commercial
interests of States in the international trade in conventional arms,
Reaffirming the sovereign right of any State to regulate and control
conventional arms exclusively within its territory, pursuant to its own legal or
constitutional system,
Acknowledging that peace and security, development and human rights are
pillars of the United Nations system and foundations for collective security and
recognizing that development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked
and mutually reinforcing,
Recalling the United Nations Disarmament Commission Guidelines for
international arms transfers in the context of General Assembly resolution 46/36H
of 6 December 1991,
Noting the contribution made by the United Nations Programme of Action to
Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in
All Its Aspects, 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, and the International Instrument to Enable States to Ident ify and Trace, in a
Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons,
Recognizing the security, social, economic and humanitarian consequences of
the illicit and unregulated trade in conventional arms,
Bearing in mind that civilians, particularly women and children, account for
the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict and armed violence,