The Arms Trade Treaty is the first international treaty that sets global standards for the trade in conventional arms. It entered into force on 24 December 2014 after more than 50 states ratified the treaty.

EU Council Decision 2021/2309/CFSP gave BAFA, together with the French agency Expertise France, the mandate to implement the third ATT outreach project. This project, which is co-financed by the Federal Foreign Office and BAFA, continues the ATT project that has been carried out since 2014 - initially by BAFA alone and since 2017 together with Expertise France - for a further three years. BAFA and Expertise France are each independently responsible for supporting a specific group of countries.

The project aims to contribute to the global universalisation of the ATT and to ensure the effective implementation of arms export control standards. Upon request, the EU project supports non-EU countries in developing their export controls capacities in the arms sector. The partner countries are offered customised support and advice on implementation in the form of regional conferences, workshops, study trips and short-term targeted assistance measures (e.g. by hiring experts to conduct a gap analysis of draft legislation) with the involvement of international experts.

There is cooperation with long-term partner countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. In total, BAFA is working with nine countries in ATT-OP III (Botswana, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Peru, Zambia and Thailand). Other interested countries can receive support on request during the course of the project.

EU Council Decision 2023/2539 gave BAFA the mandate to implement the COARM project to strengthen export controls for conventional weapons for the sixth time.

Here, too, the aim is to offer partner countries outside the European Union specialised support with regard to the expansion of their export control systems for arms and military items. The project work covers topics such as legislation, licensing procedures and customs. In contrast to the ATT OP III project, the focus is particularly on the countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The partner countries are encouraged to strengthen or adapt their export control systems in line with the EU Common Position 2008/944/CFSP. The project also provides a platform for regional dialogue and the mutual exchange of information. Other project components include the facilitation of study visits by export control authorities in partner and EU countries, as well as individual support measures that are specifically requested by the partners.

The Partner Countries are:

a) South-eastern European Countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo[1])
b) Eastern European and Caucasian countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus[2], Georgia, Republic of Moldova)
c) North African, Mediterranean and Southern Neighbourhood countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon)
d) Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia).
e) Ukraine

[1] This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo

Declaration of Independence.

[2] The Participation of Belarus remains suspended.

The Project No. 89 EU Partner-to-Partner (P2P) Export Control Programme for Dual-Use Goods started in January 2022. It has a duration of 42 months and includes the partner countries Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon (and thus continues the cooperation with these countries under the predecessor project P38) as well as the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The project is being implemented by BAFA as the sole implementing organisation.

Action plans are agreed with the partner countries, which can include both individual measures as well as regional activities. The aim is to further strengthen existing relationships and regional cooperation and to continue individual support in the area of export controls for dual-use goods.

The measures are based on the needs and status of export controls in the respective partner countries and include national and regional workshops on export controls for dual-use goods and outreach-to-industry events.

Like the P89 project, this project serves to strengthen export controls on dual-use goods. It began in mid-December 2023 and will run for 36 months. The partner countries are the countries of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In this project, BAFA acts as the sole implementing organisation and is responsible for the implementation of the overall project.

The cooperation is based on a customised national cooperation plan (roadmap), which includes national workshops as well as conferences with case studies, exercises and discussion rounds. Furthermore, support is offered to update national legislation if required.

This project is being carried out by Expertise France in a consortium of which BAFA is a member. It establishes cooperation with the ASEAN countries in the field of dual-use export controls. BAFA holds the role of the key expert for licencing procedures in this project.

BAFA is also part of a consortium in another EU project carried out by Expertise France in the field of dual-use export controls.

As a consortium partner in this project, BAFA is responsible for cooperation with the countries of South-East Europe as the Regional Coordinator. Furthermore, BAFA also provides the key expert for authorisation procedures, who is responsible for the technical design of activities.

Since 2018, national outreach activities have included a project to build capacity for the implementation of UN sanctions and other sanctions regimes in Southeast Asia. The focus of this project is on supporting states in the ASEAN region in combating attempts to circumvent sanctions by state and non-state actors. Relevant topics in this area are discussed in a multilateral framework at regional conferences, in bilateral workshops and as part of study trips with the participating states.

Since 2023, BAFA has also been implementing a national project funded by the Federal Foreign Office to support countries worldwide in implementing their export control obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004). The project offers support through technical assistance, regional and national workshops and other events to countries that seek to strengthen their export control system in line with the requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) and international standards.

On behalf of the Federal Foreign Office and in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), BAFA has been organising the "Wiesbaden Process" since 2011. This takes the form of central conferences, which generally take place every two years, as well as biannual regional conferences. The aim is to establish dialogue and cooperation between control authorities and industry in order to improve the practical implementation of counter proliferation and related export control regulations within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004).

Since 2023, BAFA has been organising a conference series (global and regional) in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) within the “Erlangen Initiative”. The initiative functions as an international exchange platform on cooperation between control authorities and academia and the role of academia in export controls. It aims to improve the practical implementation of export control regulations and in particular the control of sensitive technology transfer. The Erlangen Initiative thus complements the German ‘Outreach to Academia’ initiative, which has been in place at BAFA since 2019, as well as the German ‘Wiesbaden Process’, which has been promoting international cooperation between export control authorities and industry since 2012.