Arms TRACK entries are produced through rigorous research, drawing on a wide range of open-source materials. The research combines official, intergovernmental, and civil society sources to build a detailed and cross-verified picture.
Primary legal sources — treaty texts, UN treaty databases, and national legislation — underpin the legal framework sections of every entry. IHL analysis reflects customary IHL rules and relevant case law from international and regional tribunals, including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the African, European, and Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and hybrid criminal tribunals.
Data on weapons arsenals for each State is sourced primarily from Janes, a world-leading, open-source defence and security intelligence platform with more than 120 years of expertise in military equipment and capabilities. Janes provides updated, validated information on armed forces inventories and procurement programmes. Sources on transfer data include SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Database, the UN Register of Conventional Weapons (UNROCA) submissions by States, and national ATT annual reports.
Human rights and IHL compliance assessments draw on findings from UN human rights treaty bodies — including the Human Rights Committee, the Committee against Torture, and relevant Special Rapporteurs — as well as documentation from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and reporting by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Crisis Group. Political and governance context is informed by sources including the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project, Crisis Group, and equivalent analytical bodies.
Diversion risk assessments combine ATT reporting compliance data with findings from the Organised Crime Index, InSight Crime, the Small Arms Survey, and relevant national and regional law enforcement reporting. Where Arms TRACK entries concern situations also covered by War Watch, the two portals are cross-referenced.
All entries are researched and edited by specialists in international humanitarian law, human rights law, and international security, and are subject to peer review before publication.