The Forum on the Arms Trade is a network of civil society experts and a point of contact for strengthening public efforts to address the humanitarian, economic and other implications of arms transfers, security assistance, and weapons use. The Forum provides a venue for bringing its community's wide-ranging expertise together to amplify and strengthen its work, while also offering government and media members a one-stop resource for the latest information, analysis, and best contacts. Forum-listed experts are located around the world and work on diverse topics including human rights, development, arms control, humanitarian disarmament, cybersecurity, arms and the environment, anti-corruption, and related fields.

Biden Administration Arms Sales

On December 15, Secretary of State Blinken indicated that the U.S. was still seeking to finalize arms sales to the UAE, but did not indicate that all concerns had been resolved, after it was reported that the UAE was suspending talks about the sales the day earlier.

On November 4, the State Department notified Congress of a possible $650 million foreign military sale to Saudi Arabia for two hundred eighty (280) AIM-120C-7/C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) (rationale offered in this tweet thread). On November 10, a number of Democratic members of the House issued a statement on the sale, calling for a halt to logistical support and spare parts to Saudi Arabia. On November 12, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced a resolution of disapproval in the House (H.J.Res.63). On November 18, Senators Paul (R-Kentucky), Lee (R-Utah) and Sanders (I-Vermont) introduced the resolution of disapproval in the Senate (S.J.Res 31) - citing November 15 as the date of Congressional notification, to coincide with its publication in the Congressional Record. On December 7, the Senate voted 30-67, deciding not to accept the resolution. 

Congressional Arms Trade Measures

House version of Safeguards Act introduced on October 20.
Bipartisan National Security Reforms and Accountability Act of 2021 (NSRAA) introduced September 30 in the House and National Security Powers Act  introduced July 20 in the Senate that includes provision that "flip the script" to require Congressional approval on certain arms sales. House passed the National Defense Authoization Act (NDAA) on September 23 with many relevant amendments. On July 27, Rep. Ilhan Omar introduced the Stop Arming Human Rights Abusers Act.

During the 117th U.S. Congress session (2021-2022) members of the House and Senate have and will propose a range of legislation addressing the arms trade, security assistance, and military support. This resource page will be updated frequently.

Conventional Arms Transfer Policy

The Biden administration is revising U.S. conventional arms transfer (CAT) policy, with media reporting a possible release in September and greater emphasis on human rights. This new resource includes past policies, general policy recommendations from Forum-listed experts, and other relevant material. It will be updated as information about the new CAT policy becomes available.

Experts Publications

​Highlighting publications in which Forum-listed experts were involved. Inclusion on the Forum on the Arms Trade expert list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others.
Wim Zwijnenburg+, "International Action to Protect People, Planet, and Peace: Building a UN system-wide environment, peace and security agenda," Ecosystem for Peace - Medium, January 21, 2022.​

Ray Acheson+, "Environmental Peacebuilding through Degrowth, Demilitarization, and Feminism: Rethinking environmental peacebuilding to stay within planetary boundaries and champion social justice," Ecosystem for Peace - Medium, January 19, 2022.

Kate Kizer, "Humanitarian assistance doesn’t give militarism a free pass," Responsible Statecraft, January 18, 2022.

Amy Nelson, "Is the U.S. military’s futurism obsession hurting national security?" Brookings, January 18, 2022.

A. Trevor Thrall and Jordan Cohen (emerging expert), "2021 Arms Sales Risk Index," CATO Institute, January 18, 2022.

William Hartung, "Dr. King’s 1967 anti-war speech wasn’t popular, but it was prescient," Responsible Statecraft, January 17, 2022. 

Michael Klare, "None Dare Call It 'Encirclement," TomDispatch, January 13, 2021. 

William Hartung, "How Private Contractor Disguise The Real Costs of War," Inkstick, January 12, 2022. 

Wim Zwijnenburg, "Turkish Drones Join Ethiopia’s war, Satellite Imagery Confirms," PAX, January 11, 2022.

Sarah Leah Whitson, "The Human Rights vs. National Security Dilemma Is a Fallacy," Foreign Policy, January 10, 2022. 
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Jeff Abramson, "Congress Fails to Block Saudi Arms Sales" Arms Control Today, January/February 2022.

Thompson Chengata, "Is the Convention on Conventional Weapons the appropriate framework to produce a new law on autonomous weapon systems?," in A life interrupted: essays in honour of the lives and legacies of Christof Heyns, Pretoria University Law Press, January 10, 2022.

Michael Klare, "Conference Makes No Progress on Robotic Weapons," Arms Control Today, January/February 2022.

Nicholas Marsh+, "Negotiating Disarmament: Lessons Learnt from Colombia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sri Lanka," PRIO, 2021.

Whitney Grespin, review of "The frontlines of peace: an insider's guide to changing the world,"  International Affairs, Volume 98, Issue 1, January 2022.

Robert Muggah, "Yemen’s Parallel War in Cyberspace," Foreign Policy, January 6, 2022. 

Bill Hartung, "Arms sales to repressive regimes are more than just a human rights issue," Responsible Statecraft, January 6, 2022.

Bill Hartung, "Biden’s Arms Sales Policy In 2021: A Year of Missed Opportunities," Forbes, January 4, 2022. 

Diana Ohlbaum, "Lucy and the NDAA," Inkstick, January 3, 2022. 

Carlos A. Pérez Ricart, "¿Más armas, más violencia? Evidencia de una compleja relación desde América Latina" Perfiles Latinoamericanos, Vol. 30 Núm. 59, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede México (FLACSO Mexico), January 1, 2022. 

Michael Klare, "Containment on Steroids: Pentagon's 2022 Budget Seeks China Encirclement," Committee for a SANE U.S. China Policy, December 31, 2021. 

Kate Kizer, "Will we finally accept that ‘precision airstrikes’ don’t exist?" Responsible Statecraft, December 22, 2021.

Nicholas Marsh+, "Arms Trafficking," in Routledge Handbook of Smuggling, December 22, 2021.

Bonnie Docherty, "Countering Consensus through Humanitarian Disarmament: Incendiary Weapons and Killer Robots," Humanitarian Disarmament blog, December 21, 2021.

Allison Pytlak+, "Cyber Peace & Security Monitor, Vol. 2 No. 3," Reaching Critical Will, December 21, 2021.

​Elias Yousif+, "U.S. Security Partnership and the Protection of Civilians: Government of Ethiopia & the Ethiopian National Defense Force," Security Assistance Monitor, December 20, 2021.

Philip Alpers, "A Pressing Need: Decades of Agreement, Few Results on Arms Record-Keeping," Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at James Madison University, December 17, 2021.
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Ray Acheson+, "CCW Report, Vol. 9 No. 10-13," Reaching Critical Will, December 14, 15, 16, 17, 2021.​

Nils Duquet and Dennis Vanden Auweele, "Project TARGET: Targeting gun violence & trafficking in Europe," Flemish Peace Institute, December 13, 2021. 

Sean McCafferty and Iain Overton, "The Improvised Explosive Device and ‘The Propaganda of the Deed’," Action on Armed Violence, December 13, 2021.

Eugenio Weigend Vargas and Carlos Perez Ricart, "Non-fatal gunshot injuries during criminal acts in Mexico, 2013–2019," Injury Prevention, December 9, 2021.

Frank Slijper+ w/ special thanks to Bonnie Docherty, "Put Out the Fire: Strengthening International Law and Divestment Policies on Incendiary Weapons," PAX, December 9, 2021.
View the full list of recent and past publications featuring Forum on the Arms Trade-listed experts.

Notification Tracker

Recent FMS notifications:  January 25 - Egypt $2.2 billion for 12 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and $355 million for 3 air defense radars  January 14 - France $88 million for MQ-9 sensor pod suites January 12 - Greece $233 million for engine maintenance (for F-16s)  January 7 - France $300 million for MQ-9 (Reaper drone) follow on support   see resource 

NEW: Biden's First Year

January 20, 2022: The Forum on the Arms Trade invited members of its community, including experts and emerging experts, to examine aspects of the Biden's administration's first year. See page.​

Looking Ahead 2022

Expert analysis on issues in 2022 related to weapons use, the arms trade, and security assistance.
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Find experts who speak...

Latest "This Week in Arms Trade Publications"

​Click image above for the latest collection of publications by Forum-listed experts, and other updates on arms trade, security assistance and weapons use. Sign up to receive directly via email and check archived editions here. 

U.S. Arms Exports Under Congressional Notification Thresholds

Under U.S. law, Congress must be notified of certain potential arms exports when their value reaches a minimum threshold. There are, however, arms exports that fail to meet that threshold, and it is very difficult to assess the number and amount of such "under threshold" transfers. There is evidence, however, that the value of U.S. weapons delivered internationally that were not notified to Congress beforehand is in the tens of billions, creating a transparency and public knowledge challenge in understanding U.S. arms trade practice and its impact.

U.S. Arms Sales to Israel

In late September and early October, the House and Senate considered various measures to fund Iron Dome supplies.
On July 30, a new notification of a possible $3.4 billion foreign military sale was notified to Congress, including 18 heavy lift helicopters and other equipment. 
On May 5, the Biden administration notified Congress of a possible direct commercial sale of $735 million in precision-guided weapons to Israel, which became controversial as fighting in Israel intensified and the notification became more broadly public around May 17. Members of Congress introduced resolutions of disapproval. On May 21, the licenses were approved. On June 8, more than 120 organizations sent a letter to the President encouraging him to block delivery.

Meet the Emerging Experts

Emerging experts have expressed an interest in addressing the humanitarian, economic and other implications of arms transfers, security assistance, and weapons use...and are at an early stage in their career. Our latest cohort was announced June 15.  Meet them here.
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Experts

in cooperation with our partner organizations and projects:
The Forum is based at the Arms Control Association. Partners are not responsible for the work of the Forum nor does
partnership indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of other partners, listed experts, or resources produced by the Forum.