ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the different meanings of the term transfer. It describes the prohibition of transfer in the different treaties, including where exceptions limit the scope of the prohibitions. A common element in disarmament or non-proliferation agreements is a prohibition on the transfer of the weapon or weapons that fall within its scope. Disarmament treaties governing weapons of mass destruction typically prohibit all transfer of the weapons that they outlaw. The prohibition of transfer applies to ‘chemical weapons’, which are defined as toxic chemicals and their precursors, ‘except where intended for purposes not prohibited under the Convention, as long as the types and quantities are consistent with such purposes’. In turn, states parties are obligated to ‘ban the transfer of small arms and light weapons and their manufacturing materials into their national territory or from/ through their national territory’. In 1991, the UN Disarmament Commission observed that: ‘Arms transfers are a deeply entrenched phenomenon of contemporary international relations’.
