On 2 April 2013,...the UN General Assembly voted decisively to adopt the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) text. On 24 December 2014, the treaty is now officially becoming international law, which could save the lives of millions... The ATT...sets out...robust global rules to stop the flow of weapons, munitions and related items to countries when it is known they would be used to commit or facilitate genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and serious human rights violations...[The] value of international transfers of conventional arms is estimated to be approaching US$100 billion annually...What about businesses, aren’t they responsible too? It’s true that most of the arms trade is carried out by commercial entities – manufacturing and trading companies, military service providers, arms brokers and dealers as well as those who transport the arms and finance them. Under...the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, companies have a responsibility to respect all human rights... However, in the case of the arms trade the primary responsibility falls to states...[to] regulate the trade...