Rachel Stohl
  Vice President, Stimson Center (website)
  twitter: @rachelstohl 
  email: rstohl [at] stimson [dot] org
  phone: (202) 223-5956 

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Arms Trade Treaty | drones | US policy and practice | global trade data/trends | strategic trade control | child soldiers

Rachel Stohl is Vice President and directs the Conventional Defense Program at the Stimson Center. Her areas of expertise focus on issues relating to the international arms trade, including drones, small arms and light weapons, as well as children and armed conflict. 

Prior to joining Stimson she was an associate fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, from 2009-2011. She was a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information in Washington, DC from 1998-2009. Stohl has also been a consultant for many international organizations, including Oxfam, Project Ploughshares, SIPRI, the Small Arms Survey, and World Vision. She served as a Scoville Fellow at the British American Security Information Council in DC and worked at the United Nations Center for Disarmament Affairs in New York and at the Program for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Conversion in Monterey, CA. Stohl is an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University.

Stohl was the consultant to the UN ATT process from 2010-2013 and was previously the consultant to the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on the Arms Trade Treaty in 2008 and the UN Register for Conventional Arms in 2009.

Stohl is co-author of two books, The International Arms Trade (Polity Press, 2009) and The Beginners Guide to the Small Arms Trade (Oneworld Publishing, 2009). She has appeared in numerous documentaries, including "Making a Killing: Inside the International Arms Trade," available on the DVD of the feature film Lord of War.

Stohl holds an M.A. in international policy studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and an honors B.A. in political science and German from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.


​Recent Publications:*

• ​"The Next Administration Should Bring the Shadow Wars into the Light," Defense One, November 25, 2020.*
• "Reporting During a Pandemic: Reflections on the Arms Trade Treaty 2019 Annual Reports," Arms Trade Treaty-Baseline Assessment Project, October 2020.*
• "A Record Number Of Countries Are Using Child Soldiers," Inkstick, July 9, 2020.
  
• "Defense industry cheers as the Trump administration is poised to loosen restrictions on drone exports," Responsible Statecraft, June 25, 2020.
  
• "Yes, Congress, There Is Something You Can Do About Reckless Arms Sales," Just Security, June 9, 2020.*
  
• "COVID-19 and the U.S. Defense Industry," Stimson Center, April 27, 2020.*
  
• "Unhappy Anniversary: The US ‘Unsigned’ the Arms Trade Treaty a Year Ago," Defense One, April 26, 2020.
  
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• "U.S. Drone Policy: Transparency & Oversight," The Stimson Center, February 12, 2020.
• "The US Just Gave Greater Legitimacy to Landmines," Inkstick, February 10, 2020"The ATT Reporting Templates: Challenges and Recommendations," ATT-Baseline Assessment Project (ATT-BAP), January 2020.
• "Trump administration turns its back on child soldiers again," The Hill, November 4, 2019.
• "Global Arms Trade: Setting an Example for Responsible Policy," Stimson Center issue brief, November 7, 2019.*
• "The Known Unknowns: Examining the 2018 ATT Annual Reports," Arms Trade Treaty-Baseline Assessment Project (Stimson Center), October 24, 2019.
• "Understanding the Role of U.S. Industry in the Arms Trade Treaty," Stimson Center, August 20, 2019.
• "An “Emergency” Arms Deal: Will Congress Acquiesce in Another Blow to Its Authority?" Just Security, June 6, 2019.*
• "Leaving the Arms Trade Treaty would be another shot in America's foot," DefenseNews, May 10, 2019.*
• "Trump Unsigns the Arms Trade Treaty: How Did We Get Here?" War on the Rocks, May 3, 2019.
• "Trump’s Withdrawl from Arms Trade Treaty Could Reduce US Exports," Defense One, April 29, 2019.*
• "Trump’s decision to leave a global arms treaty was built on an NRA lie," Washington Post, April 29, 2019.
• "U.S. exit from Arms Trade Treaty forfeits input on a global challenge," Axios, April 27, 2019.
• "Lessons Learned from ATT Reporting," ATT-Baseline Assessment Project, January 2019.
• “ATT Reaches Milestone 100 State Parties,” Stimson Center, Dec. 14, 2018.
• “ATT Annual Reports in Review: Living up to Expectations?” Arms Trade Treaty Baseline Assessment Project, Stimson Center, October, 2018.
• "The Trump Administration is Failing to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers” (with Shannon Dick),  National Interest, Oct. 24, 2018.
• “Arms Trade Treaty Still Not Meeting Potential,” Stimson Center, Sept 12, 2018.
• "The Arms Trade Treaty and Drones" (with Shannon Dick), Stimson Center, Aug 23, 2018.
• "America Must Update Its Lethal Drone Policy—Here's How," The National Interest, July 29, 2018. 
• "Tempered Criticism as Trump Administration Releases Annual List of Countries Recruiting and Using Child Soldiers," Stimson Center, July 17, 2018.*
• "An Action Plan on US Drone Policy: Recommendations for the Trump Administration," Report, Stimson Center, June 7, 2018.​
• "Drone Strikes Expand, Hustling the US Down a Risky Path," Defense One, June 6, 2018. 
• "Trump Administration’s New Weapons Export Policies Stress Benefit to U.S. Economy," Just Security, April 30, 2018.
• "Child Soldiers Pose a National Security Threat" (with Shannon Dick), ​The National Interest,  Feb. 12, 2018.​​
• "If We're Going to Export More US Arms, Let's Do It Smarter" (Shannon Dick and Dan Mahanty), Defense One,  Feb. 1, 2018.​
• "Interview – The US-led Arms Export Industry is Fueling Civilian Deaths," Newsy, Jan. 17, 2018. ​
• "With Great Power: Modifying US Arms Sales to Reduce Civilian Harm," CIVIC/Stimson, Jan. 10, 2018.
• "What America Can Do to Stop the Practice of Child Soldiers," The National Interest,  Nov. 6, 2017.​
• "The Humanitarian Impact of Drones" (author), Reaching Critical Will, Oct 2017.​
• "Reviewing 2017 ATT Annual Reports on Arms Exports and Imports: Fulfilling the Promise of the ATT?," ATT Baseline Assessment Project, Oct 2017.​
• "Five dangers of giving the Commerce Department oversight of firearms exports [commentary]" (co-author), DefenseNews, Sept 25, 2017.
• "Third Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty Short on Substance" Stimson, Sept 21, 2017.
• "Reporting in Review: Examining ATT Reporting Experiences" (co-author), ATT Baseline Assessment Project, Sept 13, 2017.​
• "Synergies Between the Arms Trade Treaty and UNSCR 1540," Stimson, Sept 13., 2017.​​​
• "ATT Monitor 2017" (co-author), Control Arms, Sept 11, 2017.​
• "Examining US Arms Sales to Qatar," Stimson Spotlight, July 20, 2017.​
• "The Trump Administration Has Failed its First Test on Child Soldiers," Foreign Policy, June 30, 2017.​​​

* Indicates co-author, or contributor.