{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2017-2283/introduction",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2017-2283/introduction.json",
  "legislation": "eudn/2017/2283",
  "legislation_title": "Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/2283 of 11 December 2017 in support of a global reporting mechanism on illicit small arms and light weapons and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition to reduce the risk of their illicit trade (‘iTrace III’)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2017-2283",
  "path": "introduction",
  "kind": "introduction",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Introductory text",
  "text": "Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/2283\nof 11 December 2017\nin support of a global reporting mechanism on illicit small arms and light weapons and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition to reduce the risk of their illicit trade (‘iTrace III’)\nTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,\nHaving regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 28(1) and 31(1) thereof,\nHaving regard to the proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,\nWhereas:\n(1)\nThe 2016 EU Global Strategy for the European Union's Foreign and Security Policy (the ‘EU Global Strategy’) emphasises that the Union will promote peace and guarantee the security of its citizens and territory and step up its contributions to collective security.\n(2)\nThe illicit manufacture, transfer and circulation of conventional weapons, including small arms and light weapons (‘SALW’), and their excessive accumulation and uncontrolled spread are central to this challenge, in Europe as well as abroad. These illicit activities fuel insecurity in Europe and its neighbourhood as well as in many other regions of the world, exacerbating conflict and undermining post-conflict peace-building, thus posing a serious threat to European peace and security.\n(3)\nThe EU Strategy of 16 December 2005 to combat the illicit accumulation and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition (the ‘EU SALW Strategy’), which sets the guidelines for Union action in the field of SALW, stresses that SALW contribute to a worsening of terrorism and organised crime, and are a major factor in triggering and spreading conflicts, as well as in the collapse of State structures.\n(4)\nThe EU SALW Strategy also asserts that the Union shall strengthen and support the machinery for sanctions monitoring and support the strengthening of export controls as well as the promotion of Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP by, inter alia, promoting measures to improve transparency.\n(5)\nWith the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in SALW in All Its Aspects (the ‘UN Programme of Action’), adopted on 20 July 2001, all UN Member States have undertaken to prevent illicit trafficking in SALW, or their diversion to unauthorised recipients and, in particular, to take into account the risk of diversion of SALW into the illegal trade when assessing applications for export authorisations.\n(6)\nOn 8 December 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted an international instrument to enable states to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit SALW.\n(7)\nAt the 2012 Second Review Conference on the UN Programme of Action, all UN Member States reaffirmed their commitment to prevent illicit trafficking in SALW, including their diversion to unauthorised recipients, as well as their commitments contained in the UN Programme of Action relating to the assessment of applications for export authorisations.\n(8)\nOn 24 December 2014, the Arms Trade Treaty (‘ATT’) entered into force. The object of the ATT is to establish the highest possible common international standards for regulating or improving the regulation of the international trade in conventional arms, to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms and prevent their diversion. The Union should support all UN Member States to implement effective arms transfer controls in order to ensure that the ATT will be as effective as possible, in particular as regards the implementation of its Article 11.\n(9)\nThe Union previously supported Conflict Armament Research Ltd. (CAR) by Council Decisions 2013/698/CFSP and (CFSP) 2015/1908 (iTrace I and II).\n(10)\nThe Union wishes to finance iTrace III, the third phase of this global reporting mechanism on illicit SALW and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition. This will reduce the risk of their illicit trade and contribute to the achievement of the goals described above, including by providing relevant and timely information about illicit arms trafficking to national arms exports authorities so as to contribute to Europe's collective security, as requested by the EU Global Strategy,\nHAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008 defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment (OJ L 335, 13.12.2008, p. 99)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "Council Decision 2013/698/CFSP of 25 November 2013 in support of a global reporting mechanism on illicit small arms and light weapons and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition to reduce the risk of their illicit trade (OJ L 320, 30.11.2013, p. 34)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1908 of 22 October 2015 in support of a global reporting mechanism on illicit small arms and light weapons and other illicit conventional weapons and ammunition to reduce the risk of their illicit trade (‘iTrace II’) (OJ L 278, 23.10.2015, p. 15)."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2017/2283/introduction",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T15:13:17.200621+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}