Editorial: Given ATT’s importance, Japan should push the treaty’s adoption in Asia

September 6 , 2021

The Eighth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from August 30 to September 3. Entering in force at the end of 2014, ATT monitors exports of conventional arms to ensure that weapons do not violate existing arms embargoes or are not used for human rights abuses, including terrorism.

Ratified by 110 countries including Japan, the treaty covers heavy weapons such as tanks, attack aircraft and warships to smaller firearms operable by a single or several combatants—all of which are capable of mass killings and/or prolonging or exacerbating conflicts. The Geneva conference sought to eliminate illegal transactions of small and light weapons, primarily because they are not only inexpensive to purchase but can also be readily used even by children. The UN estimates that one billion or more of such arms are already in circulation, two-thirds of which are believed to sold and bought illegally. The horrific upshot: the death toll from their use in wars and crimes surpasses 200,000 deaths every year.

The problem is that the number of signatories to the ATT are not increasing, meaning that non-signatory nations are free to deal in small and light arms without fear of international sanctions. This is especially true in Asia. For this reason, Japan began partnering with Australia, New Zealand and other regional governments from July to move the needle for ATT to achieve critical mass—a worthy initiative that the Japanese government needs to continue taking a leading role.