A/HRC/35/8 economic, social and cultural rights. On one hand, arms may be acquired and/or deployed by States in the discharge of their obligation to protect individuals within their jurisdictions and establish or re-establish peace and security. On the other hand, the proliferation of arms, their diversion, illicit or unregulated arms transfers, transfers to States with insufficient regulation of civilian access to arms and the subsequent use or potential use of arms, may undermine national, regional and global peace and security and contribute to serious human rights violations and abuses. Specific groups of individuals, including women and children, are particularly vulnerable to violations and abuses of their rights as a result of the transfer and use of arms. 43. Systematic collection of information about the transfer and use of all types of arms and their impact on the whole spectrum of human rights should be ensured. In that regard, disaggregation of the types of arms according to the seven categories identified in the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms would be useful. The collection of such information would enable a better understanding of the relationship between arms transfers and human rights, and could guide effective actions to strengthen human rights protection. 44. One avenue for information collection will be target 16.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, and its indicator. In order to achieve a comprehensive understanding, it would also be important for States to engage in regular, public reporting on their decisions regarding arms transfer authorizations and actual transfers. In addition, relevant United Nations mechanisms could carry out systematic monitoring and reporting on the ways that transfers and the use of arms affect human rights, and should be provided with the appropriate resources to do so. 45. Civil society is contributing to building understanding about the human rights impact of arms transfers, including through its efforts to develop methodologies to monitor, gather, analyse and make available information on arms transfers. It also plays an important role in encouraging State compliance with the international law governing arms transfers, including by highlighting those transfers that have had detrimental human rights impact and exploring avenues for accountability. Civil society should continue to make efforts in this regard, with the support of the international community. 46. The international treaties regulating arms transfers, including the Arms Trade Treaty and regional arms transfer instruments, make human rights a primary consideration in decisions on whether to authorize an arms transfer. All efforts should continue to be made, including by States, United Nations entities and civil society, to advance accession to and/or ratification of the Treaty and regional arms transfer instruments. 47. Efforts should also continue to be made to ensure compliance with these instruments and with applicable international law, including international human rights law, in particular the principles of due diligence and the responsibility for aiding or assisting in the commission of an internationally wrongful act. United Nations human rights mechanisms have made a number of important recommendations on ways to address the human rights impact of arms transfers and the subsequent use of arms. States should follow up and implement those recommendations. 48. In the present report, some elements have been suggested for how to assess the relationship between arms transfers and human rights in order to strengthen efforts to effectively protect human rights. Those suggestions may, among other things, also aid in the implementation of obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty and regional arms transfer instruments, ensure that human rights considerations are consistently taken into account and improve accountability and transparency in States’ decisions on arms transfer authorizations. They could inform the development of a set of indicators to identify and measure the impact of arms transfers on the enjoyment of human rights. 14