The Regional Actors project – which was initiated with the generous support of Germany – takes stock of the work of Regional Organizations to better understand how they contribute to ATT promotion, universalization, and implementation efforts and to identify opportunities for further engagement of Regional Organizations in supporting the ATT.
It is intended as a guide for ATT States Parties to better understand what type of ATT assistance is available within their respective regions. As such the handbook gives a snapshot of the diversity of instruments, policies, tools and activities developed and undertaken in this area by a variety of regional bodies, with a specific focus on the ATT.
It also highlights several areas in which the Regional Organization experience can provide guidance and lessons learned for ATT stakeholders.
Part I – Profiles of Regional Organizations
Using the Small Arms Survey Handbook on “Regional Organizations and the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA)” as a model, the first part of the ATT Regional Actors Handbook showcases the profiles of 27 regional organizations. These organizations were selected for inclusion in the Handbook based on their engagement with the ATT or related instruments and programs.
Each profile is comprised of two sections:
1. Organization Description
Where applicable, the profiles also include information on regional instruments which share linkages or complementarities with the ATT. This analysis seeks to foster a better understanding of the key synergies and complementarities between the ATT and these instruments, in order to better illustrate the relevance of the broad range of activities and efforts by Regional Organizations to the universalization and implementation of the ATT.
2. Account of ATT-related activities
In this section, the research team looked at 2 key areas: 1) ATT Support and 2) Establishing Transfer Controls.
Given the broad range of assistance covered in this subsection, activities are organized in four types of initiatives 1) National Control System, 2) Legal Assistance, 3) Diversion Prevention and 4) Gender and GBV.
Part II – Key Findings and Recommendations
This section provides a set of general findings and specific recommendations for Regional Organizations, for ATT States Parties and other stakeholders. In particular, the recommendations highlight opportunities through which Regional Organizations could further their engagement in the ATT as well as ways in which member states can partner with Regional Organizations on ATT-related projects.
Annexes
The Handbook also includes three Annexes:
- Annex I provides a snapshot of the information provided in the Regional Organization profiles
- Annex II offers a survey of regional instruments and agreements included in the profiles outlined in Part I with a particular focus on their scope and reporting requirements.
