All Categories

Final Report — Webinar "Arms Control and Human Rights: Connecting Agendas" (April 22, 2025)

5/2/2025

Introduction

On April 22, 2025, the webinar "Arms Control and Human Rights: Connecting Agendas" was held, organized by Control Arms in collaboration with the Forum on the Arms Trade and the Asociación para las Políticas Públicas (Association for Public Policies).

The seminar examined the link between the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and efforts to address serious human rights violations, exploring examples such as:

The 2023 advisory opinion led by Mexico,
The impact of arms transfers on the Haitian crisis,
The role of transparency in strengthening human rights.

Participants

María Pía Devoto, Director, Asociación para las Políticas Públicas
Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Legal Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico
Kim Lamberty, Executive Director, Quixote Center
Sol Zoe Nottage, Associate Researcher, ATT Monitor

Recording Guide (with timestamps)

00:04:09 – General commentary by María Pía Devoto on the relationship between Human Rights and arms transfers

Differences between arms trafficking, smuggling, and diversion.
Regional context: high firearm-related homicide rates.
Prevalence of legally owned firearms diverted to criminal activities.
Explanation of Article 11 of the ATT.
Setbacks in human rights in Nicaragua, Ecuador, El Salvador, Venezuela, and Haiti.

Question 1: Overview of risks, challenges, and issues regarding arms transfers in the cases of Mexico and Haiti

00:12:29 – Presentation by Kim Lamberty (Haiti):

Description of the severe crisis in Haiti, marked by armed gangs controlling territories.
Customs and state corruption facilitating arms entry.
Humanitarian impact: internal displacement, child recruitment, widespread sexual violence.

00:20:21 – Presentation by Pablo Arrocha (Mexico):

Lack of effective regulation at the U.S. border.
Impact of arms trafficking on organized crime violence.
Need to strengthen bilateral cooperation mechanisms and legal strategies.

Question 2: What are the solutions to mitigate illicit arms transfers?

00:33:29 – Kim Lamberty:

Pressuring governments to enhance border controls.
Expanding the volume of firearms traced.
Improving inter-agency collaboration within the United States.

00:39:38 – Pablo Arrocha:

Explanation of Mexico’s strategy based on strategic litigation in U.S. courts.
Description of parallel actions before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to reinforce a human rights approach.
Analyzing the full life cycle of a firearm to understand how they reach Mexico.

00:51:19 – Comment by María Pía Devoto:

Emphasis on the importance of transparency in arms transfers as a preventive mechanism.
Transparency as a means to prevent and mitigate human rights violations.

00:52:39 – Presentation by Sol Zoe Nottage:

Presentation on the importance of transparency within the ATT framework.
Analysis of States' reporting levels and their relationship to accountability in human rights.

Q&A SessionQuestion 1: How can civil society effectively address threats linked to irresponsible arms transfers? (01:00:38)

Response by Pablo Arrocha (01:02:56)
Response by Kim Lamberty (01:06:04)

Question 2: Which entities use corruption to illicitly traffic arms into Haiti? (01:07:28)

Response by Kim Lamberty (01:10:03)

Question 3: What could the ATT do to address internal diversion of arms? What would be the next step if Mexico's litigation strategy is successful? (01:11:00)

Response by Pablo Arrocha (01:13:00)

Question 4: What has changed in Haiti over the past 20 years and what was missing to prevent the current situation? (01:18:10)

Response by Kim Lamberty (01:20:32)

Question 5: Are lawsuits enough to change the narrative around arms in the U.S.? (01:22:23)

Response by Pablo Arrocha (01:24:33)

Final Reflections
01:31:00 – Sol Zoe Nottage:

Stressed the need for States to be transparent and highlighted the advantages of transparency for human rights protection.

01:32:27 – Pablo Arrocha:

Stated that the ATT must be revitalized as an ongoing process and not just seen as a past achievement.
Called for strengthening multilateralism in arms control.

01:36:42 – Kim Lamberty:

Emphasized the importance of amplifying the visibility of illegal arms trafficking and its humanitarian consequences, especially in crises like Haiti.

Presentations

Presentation used by Sol Zoe Nottage:
Implementing the ATT in the Americas: Transparency as a Means to Prevent and Mitigate Human Rights Violations.
https://www.canva.com/design/DAGkuwYqjio/GMByCdhkcroJTduBET9VrQ/edit?utm_content=DAGkuwYqjio&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Additional Resources

ATT Monitor. (2024). Chapter 2.1: Annual Report Analysis. Control Arms. https://attmonitor.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ATT_2024_Chapter-2.1.pdf

Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, & Partners in Health. (2024, March). CSW Parallel Event: Advancing the Rights of Haitian Women & Girls: Haiti’s Transition & Beyond [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEXVaCX5Lf8

Human Rights Watch. (2024, November 25). Haiti: Scarce protection as sexual violence escalates. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/25/haiti-scarce-protection-sexual-violence-escalates

Quixote Center. (2024). Petition to DHS to end weapons trafficking. https://quixote.org/action#/18

ATT Monitor. (2024). ATT Arms Transfers Dashboard. https://attmonitor.org/en/att-arms-dashboard/

About

Archives

Pdf's

Categories