Impact of Arms Transfers on Human Rights

A/HRC/RES/53/15View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

5 versions · 2016–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/59/13

2025A/HRC/RES/59/13Impact of arms transfers on human rightsLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/53/15Impact of arms transfers on human rightsCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/47/17Impact of arms transfers on human rightsCompare with previous version
2019A/HRC/RES/41/20Impact of arms transfers on human rightsCompare with previous version
2016A/HRC/RES/32/12Impact of arms transfers on human rights

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

Access to Information Arms Transfers Crime Prevention Human Rights

What does this mandate say?

9 operative paragraphs

Expresses its deep concern at the fact that the diversion of arms and unregulated or illicit arms transfers continue to contribute to seriously undermining the human rights of individuals, especially women, children, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities and persons in vulnerable, marginalized, conflict or crime-related situations;

Notes with concern that the diversion of arms and unregulated or illicit arms transfers have a severely negative impact on the full enjoyment of all human rights of all people, in particular women, children and youth and persons in vulnerable situations, and that lack of access to information may exacerbate that negative impact and may increase the risk of corruption involving both the public and the private sectors;

Urges all States to refrain from transferring arms when they assess, in accordance with applicable domestic laws, regulations and procedures, international obligations and other commitments, including exercising due diligence, that there is a clear risk that such arms might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations or abuses of international human rights law or serious violations of international humanitarian law;

Calls upon States to implement, as appropriate, the recommendations contained in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the impact of arms transfers on human rights, and to establish a comprehensive approach for safeguarding human rights from the negative impact of the uncontrolled proliferation of arms;

Also calls upon States to consider adopting appropriate measures to enable the tracing of arms in their production, sale and transfer, including by requiring human rights due diligence, in order to avoid risks of diversion of arms, unregulated or illicit arms transfers or illicit arms trafficking;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare, in consultation with States, United Nations agencies and other relevant stakeholders, an analytical report on the impact of arms transfers, including the diversion of arms and unregulated or illicit arms transfers, on the enjoyment of human rights, with a focus on the role of access to information in preventing, mitigating and responding to the negative human rights impact thereof, and to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-sixth session;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to organize a full-day intersessional workshop to hold stocktaking discussions on the role of States and the private sector in preventing, addressing and mitigating the negative human rights impact of arms transfers, including the diversion of arms and unregulated or illicit arms transfers, to be held before the fifty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council and open to the participation of States, relevant treaty bodies and mandate holders and members of academia, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, to inform the preparation of a report on gaps and future steps on the subject, to be presented to the Council at its fifty-eighth session;

Invites all relevant special procedures, commissions of inquiry and other relevant mechanisms of the Human Rights Council and human rights treaty bodies to bear the present resolution in mind within the framework of their respective mandates;

Decides to remain seized of this issue.

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