I. Global instruments for conventional arms control

Chapter:

13. Conventional arms control and new weapon technologies

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2020

Author(s):

Ian Davis

Conventional arms control by states usually falls within one of two broad approaches: limiting and/or prohibiting weapons considered to be inhumane or indiscriminate; or regulating and managing weapons procurement, production, transfers and trade, with a view to preventing their destabilizing accumulation, diversion and/or misuse. There are five main global instruments for regulating the production, trade and/or use of conventional weapons: (a) the 1981 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (the CCW Convention); (b) the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti‑Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (the APM Convention); (c) the 2001 United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects (the UN POA); (d) the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM); and (e) the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).