Last year, the Control Arms Campaign (Oxfam, Amnesty International, and IANSA) contributed to the mobilisation of the 153 governments that voted for an historic UN General Assembly resolution, which called for work to begin towards a global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

The first step in this process was a UN Secretary General's consultation on the 'feasibility, scope and draft parameters of an Arms Trade Treaty'. Our campaign objectives for this process were to promote a strong ATT focused on human rights, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and sustainable development, and to gain the participation of as many supportive governments as possible.

To date, 97 governments have submitted responses to the consultation. The majority are supportive of an ATT, but some are weak in their formulations on respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.

The 2007 session of the UN First Committee on Disarmament and International Security (4 October to 2 November) is an opportunity to continue to mobilise international support for a tough and effective ATT, to create a vocal and informed majority to undermine the arguments of the sceptics, and to promote the 'Golden Rule' - no arms transfers that will be used to violate IHL, human rights law, or undermine sustainable development.

The next stage of the ATT process will be the convening of a UN 'Group of Governmental Experts' who will discuss the ATT initiative in detail and report back to the General Assembly in October 2008. The first meeting of the GGE is scheduled for February 2008.

The Control Arms campaign will continue to promote our main messages with delegates at the First Committee. These are:

• A strong global Arms Trade Treaty is feasible. The overwhelming majority of governments voted for an ATT based on existing international law, a majority of states have contributed to the UN Secretary General's consultation on an ATT, and most states have accepted that irresponsible transfers of conventional arms must be stopped.

• A global Arms Trade Treaty is urgent - the upcoming Group of Government Experts should acknowledge the massive loss of life and livelihoods caused by irresponsible arms transfers, and listen to the voices of the millions of people around the world who are affected directly and indirectly by persistent armed violence.

• A global Arms Trade Treaty must be fair and based on objective universal principles, including 'the Golden Rule' that there should be no arms transfers that will be used to violate IHL, human rights law, or undermine sustainable development.

• The ATT process must be open and inclusive, embracing as many UN member states as possible, and not restricted only to the members of the upcoming GGE, especially if a small minority of states block that GGE.