Europe

The European Union supports several ATT implementation projects. These include:

1. EU ATT-Outreach Project (ATT-OP)
Established in 2014 with the goal of supporting the universalization and implementation of the ATT and by the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) and Expertise France, the ATT-OP is focused on providing ATT assistance to countries in the regions of SouthEast Asia, Africa and Latin America.

To ensure that it does not duplicate work already being carried out by other actors, ATT-OP coordinates with other organizations, including the UN Regional Centres, Small Arms Survey, ATT Secretariat, and Voluntary Trust Fund. Most of ATT-OP”s work is carried out through tailored national assistance programs and includes review of draft laws, trainings for licensing or customs officers, sub-regional workshops, and ad-hoc assistance.

2. Direct support for the ATT Secretariat
On 16 April 2021, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision to provide support for activities of the ATT Secretariat to support the implementation of the ATT. This support enables the ATT Secretariat to: (a) provide support for capacity building of ATT national points of contact; (b) establish an expert roster on capacity building of local and regional ATT actors through “training of trainers”; and (c) support the development of a database to match assistance needs with available resources.

National control systems
NATO supports and facilitates dialogue among Allies, partners, and other countries and helps them to coordinate and carry out their obligations under key international disarmament and arms control instruments,¹⁵⁵ including the UNPoA and the ATT.¹⁵⁶

The NATO”s Arms Control, Disarmament and WMD Non-Proliferation Centre (ACDC), created in 2017, focuses on the four key areas: conventional arms control and confidence- and security-building measures; small arms and light weapons and mine action; weapons of mass destruction (WMD) non-proliferation; and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense. As part of this work, NATO has established and strengthened regional and cross-regional cooperation and developed coordination and information-sharing mechanisms to combat the illicit trade in small arms.

The Alliance has also developed structured partnerships, including the Partnership for Peace, the Mediterranean Dialogue, and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, and has engaged actively with partner states on a wide range of political and security issues related to small arms controls. For instance, through the Partnership for Peace (PfP) Trust Fund Policy, established in 2000, NATO assists partner countries with the safe destruction of stocks of anti-personnel landmines, surplus munitions, unexploded ordnance and SALW.

In the area of conventional arms, NATO”s 2022 Strategic Concept highlights the continued importance of strategic stability and Allies” efforts on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, which aim to reduce risk and enhance security, transparency, verification and compliance. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) is the landmark arms control agreement, to which Allies have repeatedly stated their
commitment.

Gender and Gender-based Violence
NATO has developed guidelines for gender mainstreaming in small arms-related projects.¹⁵⁷

National control systems
SEESAC works primarily with national SALW Commissions and brings them together in joint meetings twice a year to share common challenges and identify solutions to address the illicit possession, trafficking, and misuse of firearms .¹⁶²

Similarly, the Regional Information Exchange Process on Arms Export Controls (RIEP)¹⁶³ is a flagship activity of SEESAC’s Arms Export Control project, initiated in 2009 as a platform for officials developing and implementing arms transfers control policies in their respective countries. The meetings held as part of this platform present a further opportunity for SEESAC to support its Member States.

SEESAC has also developed Regional Micro-disarmament Standards and Guidelines (RMDS/G) to improve safety and efficiency in national and regional SALW controls and promote common procedures and practices in line with relevant international agreements, including the UNPoA, the Firearms Protocol, the OSCE Document on SALW and relevant EU agreements.¹⁶⁴ The RMDS/G reflect the ongoing development of operational procedures, practices and norms, and are constantly updated to reflect the latest developments and practices in SALW control.

At the request of a Member State, SEESAC also provides capacity-building trainings on SALW controls, including in support of the implementation of the.¹⁶⁵ In addition, SEESAC facilitates inter-regional cooperation and exchange of best practices. For example in 2019, SEESAC hosted a delegation of SALW control practitioners from West Africa, to foster information and knowledge exchanges on good practices and challenges in SALW control
between the two regions.¹⁶⁶

Other work being carried out by SEESAC includes the following:

• Leading role in support of the Regional Roadmap On Combating Illicit Arms Trafficking In The Western Balkans and coordinates UNDP”s regional project, which supports the Roadmap;
• Direct implementation of the “Support for Enhancing the Fight Against the Illegal Possession, Misuse and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Western Balkans’ project;¹⁶⁷ and
• Development and implementation of the Roadmap For A Sustainable Solution To The Illegal Possession, Misuse Of SALW and Their Ammunition In The Western Balkans By 2024.
• Facilitated the creation and manages the Brokering Database – an online tool, available only to authorized government counterparts, which contains all arms brokers registered in the participating countries.

Legislative Assistance
SEESAC has undertaken work to harmonize SALW control-related legislation and policies with the EU Acquis as a way to develop a regional standardization of procedures and practices.¹⁶⁸ In partnership with the Parliamentary Forum on SALW, SEESAC has organized trainings for the Members of Parliaments from South East Europe, on the EU SALW policies and regulations.¹⁶⁹

Diversion prevention
In 2015, SEESAC published a report on “Addressing the Unauthorized Re-export or Re-Transfer of Arms and Ammunition” which provides guidelines to assist states in South East Europe with the development and implementation of re-export and re-transfer controls – particularly how to respond in an effective and transparent manner to reports and allegations of unauthorized re-exports and re-transfers. The associated Toolkit provides licensing officers with specific language to be included in the licensing  documentation as well as tools and checklists that can assist governments to impose and enforce re-export and re-transfer of arms.¹⁷⁰

Gender and Gender-based Violence
Through its broader body of work focused on gender in security sector reform, SEESAC works to develop regional understandings of and action on the role of gender in small arms control.¹⁷¹ Through a gender lens, SEESAC examines firearms ownership and access, collects and analyzes gender disaggregated data on the misuse of firearms ,addresses masculinity and cultural norms, examines attitudes toward small arms and light weapons, and ensures gender balance in policy making. SEESAC also examines gender considerations in SALW control legislation and policies within SEESAC’s Member States, including a comprehensive exercise to screen small arms control legislation and policies in the region to account for their gender perspective.

SEESAC assists other Regional Organizations such as CARICOM IMPACS, and shares its expertise and resources with governments outside its region. For instance, in 2016, SEESAC, together with the Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations (NCGM) and the Peacekeeping Training Centre of the Serbian Armed Forces, also held a “Gender Training of Trainers” course with participants of the armed forces from Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda. The course supported the participants in developing skills to integrate a gender perspective into military training and education in their respective countries, with a view to utilizing the capacities developed to foster south-south cooperation.¹⁷²

National control systems
Europol’s work most relevant to the ATT is in the area of prevention of illicit arms trafficking and  strengthening national capacity to address this challenge.

In particular, Europol’s Analysis Project (AP) Weapons and Explosives which deals with criminal organizations and 1individuals involved in the illegal manufacturing, possession and trafficking of a range of military and dual-use goods, including small arms and light weapons, ammunition, parts and components, explosives and explosives precursors, and improvised explosive devices or military ordnance.¹⁷⁴ Through the AP Weapons and Explosives program, Europol supports EU law enforcement authorities and other partners in tackling crime, including by providing analysis of related information and intelligence, facilitation of operational meetings between partners involved in cases, deployment in field operations, and provision of expertise and training to law enforcementauthorities to support cases and share knowledge.¹⁷⁵

Similarly, through the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), Europol provides an integrated approach to EU internal security, including measures on external border controls, police, customs and judicial cooperation on information management, innovation, training, prevention and the external dimension of internal security. The EU’s priorities for the fight against serious and organized crime for EMPACT 2022-2025 sets out ten priority areas, which include firearms trafficking, with the principal aim of “targeting criminal networks and individual criminals involved in the illicit trafficking, distribution and use of firearms”.¹⁷⁶
The agency is expected to increasingly focus on analysis of open source intelligence to identify patterns of firearms-related violence and firearms trafficking, and developing capacity in the area of tracing weapons.¹⁷⁷

Other ATT-relevant areas comprise terrorism and genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,¹⁷⁸ specifically through programs such as Analysis Projects Dolphin (AP Dolphin) and Analysis Projects Core International Crimes (AP CIC). AP Dolphin gathers intelligence and information available in EU Member States linked to terrorist groups in the EU, while AP CIC aims to support the competent authorities of the EU Member States, third parties and organisations in preventing and combating international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.¹⁷⁹ In 2021 alone, 61 operations were supported in relation to crime area “weapons and explosives”; some of these operations focused on the trafficking of weapons through postal and fast parcels.¹⁸⁰

Moreover, as part of a wider strategy to identify the criminal networks supplying terrorist groups with firearms and ammunition, Europol works closely with counter terrorism experts on international investigations. Europol’s European Counter-Terrorism Centre (ECTC) supports Member States in information-sharing and operational cooperation with regard to monitoring traffic in illegal firearms in the context of anti-terrorism.¹⁸¹ Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC) also seeks to identify links between the facilitation of illegal migration and other crime areas, including firearms trafficking.¹⁸²

Diversion Prevention
Europol also supports Member States’ actions to counter the diversion of firearms and explosive precursors through its counter diversion information cell, which collects and cross checks information on suspicious dealers and brokers.¹⁸³ For instance, recently Europol announced that during EMPACT Joint Action Days in October 2022, over 380 persons were arrested for alleged to be involved in drug trafficking, facilitation of illegal immigration, document fraud and the trafficking of firearms and over 100 firearms were sized.¹⁸⁴ Similarly, in the context of the Ukraine conflict, Europol is working with Ukrainian officials to mitigate the threat of arms trafficking into the European Union, including by monitoring known smuggling routes.¹⁸⁵

National control systems
The OSCE contributes to ATT implementation through its work in the broader area of arms transfers and weapons control. In this regard, the OSCE has developed a number of guidelines, model regulations, and non-binding regional instruments that may be of use to states as they seek to maintain or improve their arms transfer controls.

These include the Voluntary Guidelines for Compiling National Reports on SALW Exports From/Imports to Other Participating States During the Previous Calendar Year, OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Template for End-User Certificate for Small Arms and Light Weapons, Principles on the Control of Brokering in Small Arms and Light Weapons, Standard Elements of End-User Certificates and Verification Procedures for SALW Export, Handbook of Best Practices on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and Principles Governing Arms Transfers. All of these tools and instruments were adopted before the entry into force of the ATT, but remain relevant to the implementation of the ATT.

The OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC) has also organized workshops and training events to explore measures to support implementation of the OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which given the complementarities between the two instruments contribute to ATT implementation. A number of OSCE field operations are also active in the area of arms control. These activities include strengthening SALW and conventional ammunition stockpile management, supporting national small arms control mechanisms, undertaking initiatives aimed at decreasing the illegal possession of weapons, and organizing training and awareness-raising campaigns.

Diversion prevention
In the area of preventing the diversion of weapons, the OSCE focuses on safe and secure storage of SALW and ammunition.¹⁹⁰
For instance, regional and national trainings support the implementation of the OSCE Best Practice Guide on Deactivation of SALW and development of SALW deactivation standards and explore approaches and procedures in their efforts to combat diversion and illicit transfers of SALW.¹⁹¹

 Cross-Cutting Issues

Gender and Gender-based Violence
The OSCE Scholarship for Peace and Security, established in 2017, offers training courses on conflict prevention and resolution through arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, with a specific focus on OSCE-relevant arms control instruments. Each year, the programme emphasizes encouraging the participation of women to contribute to diminishing the gender gap in the field of arms control, indirectly contributing to ATT decisions and recommendations in the area of gender and GBV.¹⁹²

National control systems
The CSE Pillar provides assistance and information to support the countries in their preparation for possible accession to arms control agreements. Annually, RACVIAC organizes and hosts seminars, workshops, courses, conferences and meetings, including an Arms Control Symposium. For example, in 2011, RACVIAC co-organized with OSCE a three-day “Regional Workshop on Customs Procedures and Licensing Issuance: Integrating the National Processing of Dual Use Goods and Conventional Weapons through Information Sharing.” This conference aimed to enhance information sharing between customs services and licensing officers at national and regional levels in order to effectively fight the trafficking of conventional weapons, including small arms and light weapons and strategic dual-use commodities. The workshops also addressed transfer controls.¹⁹⁵

While the majority of activities focus on sub-regional arms control obligations arising from the Dayton Peace Agreement, 2011 Vienna Document, Open Skies Treaty, Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, Ottawa Convention on Anti-personnel Mines, Oslo Convention on Cluster Munitions, and Chemical Weapons
Convention, trainings also cover gender, counter-terrorism, and security challenges.¹⁹⁶ Workshops are also organized on Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM) of conventional weapons and ammunition. For example, in 2022 RACVIAC organized a hybrid workshop for military and civilian experts dealing with conventional ammunition stockpile management issues in support of building effective national ammunition surveillance capacities.¹⁹⁷

National control systems

SELEC indirectly contributes to ATT implementation of its Article 7 risk assessment through its provision of multinational trainings in the areas of terrorism, organized crime, firearms trafficking, and dual-use goods. For example, in 2015 SELEC held a workshop in Romania on Dual Use Commodities for Prosecutors and Investigators aimed at increasing the awareness of modalities to prevent and fight more efficiently the illicit trafficking of dual use goods.²⁰¹

Similarly, in the framework of the project SIRAS- Strengthening the fight against firearms trafficking in Southeastern Europe, in 2019 SELEC organized, an interdisciplinary regional workshop to explore the links between firearms trafficking and terrorism.²⁰² Further, SELEC’s Anti-Terrorism Task Force regularly organizes workshops for law enforcement and other stakeholders. All of these programs provide opportunities to raise awareness and train SELEC member states at the intersection of arms control, organized crime and terrorism. In doing so, SELEC provides a foundation upon which to identify information to use in the application of the ATT risk assessment as it relates to organized crime and terrorism (ATT Art 7(1)(b)(iii) and (iv)).