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.
Congressional Arms Trade MeasuresBipartisan 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. 
Biden Administration Arms Sales Review - 2021On September 21, House Democrats, responding to pressure from progressive colleagues, removed a provision from the stopgap government funding bill that would have provided $1 billion in funding to Israel's Iron Dome air defense system. The next day, Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee introduced a separate bill (H.R. 5323) to provide the Iron Dome funding, which passed the House in a 420-9 vote on September 23 (see vote). On October 4, Senator Menendez called for unanimous consent to approve funding, to which Sen. Paul objected.
Conventional Arms Transfer PolicyThe 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 PublicationsHighlighting 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.
Ray Acheson and Allison Pytlak +, "CCW Report," Volume 9, No. 7, Reaching Critical Will, October 4, 2021.
Ray Acheson and Allison Pytlak +, "First Committee Monitor," Volume 19, No. 1, Reaching Critical Will, October 3, 2021. Jeff Abramson, "ATT Members Highlight Small Arms, Light Weapons," Arms Control Today, October, 2021. Jeff Abramson and William Ostermeyer (Forum intern), "New Action Plan Adopted on Cluster Munitions," Arms Control Today, October, 2021. A. Trevor Thrall and Jordan Cohen (emerging expert), "Business as Usual: U.S. Arms Sales and Civilian Casualties in Nigeria," CATO Institute, September 30, 2021. Iain Overton +, "The targeting of high-rises in Gaza: an analysis of Israel’s air strikes on tall buildings in 2021," Action on Armed Violence, September 30, 2021. Ray Acheson, "Hope and hubris at the UN General Assembly," Reaching Critical Will, September 30, 2021. Ara Marcen +, "Access to information in a world in crisis: how opacity in the defence sector makes countries more vulnerable to corruption," Transparency International-Defence and Security, September 28, 2021. Emma Soubrier, "A New U.S. Weapons Exports Policy: Transformed or Simply Revamped?" Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, September 27, 2021. Ray Acheson and Allison Pytlak +, "CCW Report," Volume 9, No. 6, Reaching Critical Will, September 23, 2021. Seth Binder, "Back to Business as Usual: President Biden’s First Foreign Affairs Budget for the Middle East and North Africa," Project on Middle East Democracy, September 23, 2021. Lauren Woods, "Taking Stock of U.S. Security Assistance Since the 9/11 Attacks," The Baraza, September 23, 2021. Sarah Leah Whitson and John Hursh, "Biden's Middle East Policy is just sugar-coated business as usual," Responsible Statecraft, September 22, 2021.* Allison Pytlak, "The Narrative Must Change: Prospects for the 2021 UNGA First Committee," Humanitarian Disarmament, September 22, 2021 William Hartung, "It's time for the US to end its involvement in the deadly Yemen war," Inkstick, September 22, 2021. Annie Shiel, Elias Yousif, Lauren Woods, Rachel Stohl, Shannon Dick, Arianna Tolany (emerging expert), "Demystifying End-Use Monitoring in U.S. Arms Exports," Security Assistance Monitor, Center for Civilians in Conflict & Stimson Center, September 2021.* Diana Ohlbaum +, "Dismantling Racism and Militarism in U.S. Foreign Policy," FCNL Education Fund and Center for International Policy, September 2021. Erin Hunt+, "Canada's National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security: Moving towards Humanitarian Disarmament," Peace and Security Network - Canada, September 2021. Wanda Muñoz, "Ethics and Autonomous Weapons Systems," Human Security Network in Latin America and the Caribbean (SEHLAC), September 16, 2021 Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan +, "Cluster Munition Monitor 2021," Cluster Munition Coalition, September 15, 2021. Andrew Feinstein +, "Britain's 'robust' arms export controls are a fiction," Declassified UK, September 14, 2021. A. Trevor Thrall and Jordan Cohen, "Guinea's Coup Is The Latest Example of Risks From U.S. Military Aid," Cato Institute, September 14, 2021. Katherine Aguirre and Robert Muggah, "The state of police violence in the Americas," Small Wars Journal, September 13, 2021. William Kullman +, "The Dynamics of Small Arms and Light Weapons Trafficking in the Caribbean Region" in Building Strategic Resilience: Managing Uncertainty in an Increasingly Complex World, Caribbean Journal of Strategic and Security Studies, October 30 (release pending), 2021. Ray Acheson +, CCW Report Vol. 9, No. 5, Reaching Critical Will, September 10, 2021. Ray Acheson, Bonnie Docherty, Natalie Goldring, Cindy Ebbs, Allison Pytlak, Doug Weir, Matthew Bolton+, "First Committee Briefing Book 2021," Reaching Critical Will, September 2021. Elias Yousif and Lauren Woods, "The Expanding Scope of U.S. Security Assistance Since 9/11," Security Assistance Monitor, September 2021. William Hartung, "Profits of War: Corporate Beneficiaries of the Post-9/11 Pentagon Spending Surge," Costs of War Project, September 13, 2021. Stephen Miles, "How presidents used the 2001 AUMF to justify wars unrelated to 9/11," Responsible Statecraft, September 9, 2021. Jodi Vittori, "Corruption and Self-Dealing in Afghanistan and Other U.S.-Backed Security Sectors," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, September 9, 2021. Allison Pytlak, "Editorial: The fuel that perpetuates conflict," ATT Monitor Vol. 14 No. 4, Reaching Critical Will, September 8, 2021 Mark Bromley+, "Implementing the 2021 Recast of the EU Dual-use Regulation: Challenges and Opportunities," SIPRI, September 2021. Elias Yousif, "Issue Brief: The Arms Left Behind in Afghanistan," Security Assistance Monitor, September 2021. Jeff Abramson, "Lawsuit Targets Arms Flows to Mexico" & "Other Lawsuits on U.S. Arms Transfers," Arms Control Today, September 2021. Thompson Chengeta, "Ethics and Autonomous Weapon Systems," in Proceedings of the Bruges Colloquium, New Technologies on the Battlefield: Friend or Foe? 12-16 October 2020, ICRC, published September 2021. View the full list of recent and past publications featuring Forum on the Arms Trade-listed experts.
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Event - Oct. 21 - Evolving Financial Approaches to Disarmament and WeaponsRegister for this side event to the UN General Assembly’s First Committee, open to a global audience, for a comparative perspective on how product-based and behavior-based approaches to weapons investment is working to further the Mine Ban Treaty, Convention on Cluster Munitions, Treaty on the Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons, Arms Trade Treaty, and other disarmament and weapons regulation efforts. Details.
Find experts who speak...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.
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 Sales to IsraelIn 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. 
Notification TrackerRecent FMS notifications: October 8 - Australia $985 million for twelve (12) MH-60R multi-mission helicopters September 30 - Australia $125 million for one Growler aircraft and services September 16 - Saudi Arabia $500 million for maintenance support (helicopters) August 25 - South Korea $258 million for thousands of precision guided munitions; Australia $350 million for services for future standard missiles August 4 - Taiwan $750 million for forty (40) medium self-propelled Howitzers; Japan $134 million for Aegis support and $61.5 million for forty-four (44) RAM missiles August 3 - Greece $270 million for F-16 sustainment; Georgia $30 million for eighty-two (82) Javelin missiles August 2 - India $82 million for Harpoon test set July 30 - Israel $3.4 billion for 18 heavy lift helicopters and other equipment; Thailand - $83.5 million for 300 Javelin missiles; July 1 - Kuwait $445 million for heavy tactical vehicles June 24 - Philippines $2.430 billion for twelve (12) F-16s; $120 million for Harpoon missiles; $42.4 million for Sidewinder missiles June 3 - Australia $3.5 billion for AH-64E Apache Helicopters and related equipment May 24 - Spain $110 million for MQ-9A (Reaper) support May 19 - Greece $165 million for supply and support services for air forces May 10 - Canada $1.7 billion for four (4) Shipsets of the AEGIS Combat System April 30 - India $2.420 billion for six (6) P-8I Patrol aircraft Annual total for 2021 is now more than $24 billion. --- In 2020, the annual global total of nearly $135 billion in these notifications was the highest amount this century (2000-2020) see resource
Meet the Emerging ExpertsEmerging 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.
Resource Page - Int'l Trade of Firearms & Ammunition: Move to Commerce ControlControversial changes that move export oversight on select firearms, including some assault weapons and sniper rifles, to the Commerce Department went into effect in March 2020..See resource page for concerns expressed and more information.
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Experts
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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.
partnership indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of other partners, listed experts, or resources produced by the Forum.