Firearms Protocol

The Firearms Protocol, formally the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the Palermo Convention). It was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 31 May 2001 and entered into force on 3 July 2005.

The Protocol is the only legally binding instrument on small arms control at the global level. Its purpose, set out in Article 2, is to promote, facilitate, and strengthen cooperation among states parties to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms.

Core obligations on states parties include:

• Criminalization of illicit manufacturing and trafficking, and of tampering with firearm markings (Article 5).
• Marking of firearms at manufacture and import, to permit tracing (Article 8).
• Recordkeeping for at least ten years on firearm transactions (Article 7).
• Licensing or authorization systems for international transfers of firearms, parts, and ammunition, including import, export, and transit authorizations (Article 10).
• Deactivation standards for firearms rendered permanently inoperable (Article 9).

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) serves as guardian of the Protocol and supports implementation through legislative assistance and training. The Conference of the Parties to the Palermo Convention reviews implementation through a dedicated Working Group on Firearms.

The Protocol is distinct from, but complementary to, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) of 2013, which regulates conventional weapons transfers more broadly, and the politically (non-legally) binding UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons of 2001. Notably, several major firearm-producing states, including the United States, have signed but not ratified the Protocol, limiting its universality.