Subsidiary bodies

Rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure provides that the Conference of States Parties may establish subsidiary bodies, in accordance with Article 17(4) of the Treaty. The Conference determines the matters to be considered by any subsidiary body established under the Treaty including its mandate, officers, composition, size, duration and budgetary issues.

The current subsidiary bodies of the ATT are:

• The Bureau (comprising the President and four vice-Presidents)
• The Management Committee
•  The VTF Selection Commitee

• Three Working Groups:

  • The Working Group on Effective Treaty Implementation
  •  The Working Group on Transparency and Reporting
  • The Working Group on Treaty Universalization

Bureau

Under Rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure, during each session of the Conference of States Parties to the ATT a President and four vice-Presidents for the following session of the Conference are elected from among the representatives of participating States Parties. The President and four vice-Presidents, informally referred to as ‘the Bureau’, begin their terms of office at the end of the Conference that elected them and serve until their successors are elected at the end of the next ordinary session of the Conference. Bureau members preside over any extraordinary meeting of the Conference held during their term.

The current vice-Presidents of the Bureau are:

1. Latvia
2. Philippines
3. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
4. Uruguay

Management Committee

The First Conference of States Parties to the ATT established a Management Committee as a subsidiary body, pursuant to Article 17.4 of the Treaty and Rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure. The role of the Management Committee is to provide oversight on financial matters and on other matters related to the ATT Secretariat to ensure maximum accountability, efficiency and transparency and the Secretariat’s operations.

Terms of Reference for the Management Committee

The Management Committee comprises the President of the Conference of States Parties and a State Party representative designated by each UN regional group. Representatives of the ATT Secretariat participate in meetings and representatives of Signatory States may be invited, when appropriate, by the Conference, to attend the meetings of the Management Committee as observers.

Members of the Management Committee (other than the President and representatives of the ATT Secretariat) serve for two years and are eligible to serve a further term.

The following five State Party representatives designated by each UN regional group, were appointed by the Eleventh Conference of States Parties as Members of the Management Committee and are currently serving:

• China
• Latvia
• Lesotho
• Paraguay
• Spain

Voluntary Trust Fund Selection Committee

The Second Conference of States Parties to the ATT established a Selection Committee as a subsidiary body, pursuant to Article 17.4 of the Treaty and Rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure, to oversee the administration of the Voluntary Trust Fund. The Selection Committee consists of up to 15 members.

Terms of Reference for the ATT Voluntary Trust Fund

The following States Parties, appointed by the Ninth Conference of States Parties to the ATT are the current Members of the VTF Selection Committee:

1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Finland
4. Germany
5. Japan
6. Latvia
7. Madagascar
8. Mexico
9. Panama
10. Republic of Korea
11. South Africa
12. Switzerland
13. the United Kingdom
14. Guatemala (appointed in May 2023)

Members of the VTF Selection Committee serve for a period of two years (and are eligible to be reappointed for further terms).

In addition, the Selection Committee selects a chair to preside over its meetings. The current Chairperson of the VTF Selection Committee is H.E. Aidan LIDDLE of the United Kingdom.

Working Groups

The following Working Groups were established by CSP2 in 2016 and became standing Working Groups by a decision of CSP3 in 2017:

1. Working Group on Effective Treaty Implementation (WGETI)

2. Working Group on Transparency and Reporting (WGTR)

3. Working Group on Treaty Universalization (WGTU)

Diversion Information Exchange Forum (DIEF)

What is the DIEF?

The Diversion Information Exchange Forum (DIEF) is a sui generis body for informal voluntary exchanges between States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and signatory States concerning concrete cases of detected or suspected diversion and for sharing concrete, operational diversion-related information.

The DIEF was formally established by the Sixth Conference of States Parties (CSP) (see paragraph 40 of the CSP6 Final Report).

The CSP10 reviewed the usefulness of the DIEF and its Terms of Reference (ToR), confirming the importance of the DIEF and confirming that the set-up of the DIEF and its ToR  are still fit for purpose (see paragraph 30 of the CSP10 Final Report).

The operation of the DIEF is governed by the following:

•        Updated Terms of Reference (ToR) concerning the Diversion Information Exchange Forum
         English         Chinese          Arabic           French           Russian           Spanish

DIEF Chair

The following persons have served as Chairs of the DIEF:

•        CSP7: Mr. Tom NIJS of Belgium
•        CSP8: Mr Alejandro ALBA FERNÁNDEZ of Mexico
•        CSP9: Col. Philippe LEJEUNE of France
•        CSP10: Col. Philippe LEJEUNE of France
•        CSP11: Dr. ​​​​​​​Adam Adamu Alhassan BONAA of Ghana

Meetings of the DIEF

The following meetings of the DIEF have taken place:

• First meeting, CSP8, on 24 August 2022 (see paragraph 28 of the CSP8 Final Report)
• Second meeting, CSP9 second session of Working Group Meetings, on 11 May 2023
• Third meeting, CSP9, on 23 August 2023 (see paragraph 27 of the CSP9 Final Report)
• Fourth meeting, CSP10 Working Group Meetings, on 22 February 2024
• Fifth meeting, CSP10, on 21 August 2024 (see paragraph 31 of the CSP10 Final Report)
• Sixth meeting, CSP11, on 27 August 2025 (see paragraph 27 of the CSP11 Final Report)