WILPF delivers statement to Arms Trade Treaty meeting

The Working Group meetings and Second Informal Preparatory Meeting of the Ninth Conference of States Parties (CSP9) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) took place in Geneva on 9–12 May 2023. WILPF delivered a statement under the discussion about the priority theme for the Korean Presidency on ‘the role of industry in responsible international transfers of conventional arms’. Recalling the organisation's very first resolution in 1915, which saw “in the private profits accruing from the great armament factories a powerful hindrance to the abolition of war,” WILPF recommended that rather than considering the benefits for industry of engaging in the ATT, states should articulate how industry can better comply with the ATT’s objective and purpose. WILPF also highlighted the symbiotic relationship between the state and arms industry, which contributes directly to the construction of so-called national security policies, as well as militarised views of citizen identity. WILPF expressed hope that the voices of those that suffer the horrors of violence and war and bear the direct impact of the destruction caused by weapons, are heard and keep guiding the work of this Treaty.