Objective Information on Military Matters, Including Transparency of Military Expenditures

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 88b Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures, published in 2008.

What other versions does this mandate have?

17 versions · 1994–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/12

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/12	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures	1,364	98%Compare
2022	A/RES/77/33	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures	1,343	99%Compare
2019	A/RES/74/24	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures	1,338	85%Compare
2017	A/RES/72/20	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures	1,515	84%Compare
2015	A/RES/70/21	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures	1,416	87%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

23 reports · 2005–2026

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2026	A/81/203	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/80/12
2025	A/80/225	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/33
2024	A/79/218	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/33
2023	A/78/158	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/33
2022	A/77/159	Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/74/24

What subjects does this mandate have?

14 subjects

Consultations Groups of Experts Guidelines Information Exchange International Organizations Military Expenditures Periodic Reports Regional Disarmament Regional Organizations Report Preparation Reporting Procedures Standardization Training Programmes Transparency in Armaments

What’s in this document?

17 operative paragraphs

Calls upon Member States to report annually, by 30 April, to the Secretary-General their military expenditures for the latest fiscal year for which data are available, using, preferably and to the extent possible, the reporting instrument as recommended in its resolution 35/142 B or, as appropriate, any other format developed in conjunction with similar reporting on military expenditures to other international or regional organizations, and, in the same context, encourages Member States to submit nil returns, if appropriate;

Recommends the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on military matters to all Member States for implementation, fully taking into account specific political, military and other conditions prevailing in a region, on the basis of initiatives and with the agreement of the States of the region concerned;

Encourages relevant international bodies and regional organizations to promote transparency of military expenditures and to enhance complementarity among reporting systems, taking into account the particular characteristics of each region, and to consider the possibility of an exchange of information with the United Nations;

Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General on objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures;³

³A/58/202 and Add.1–3, A/59/192 and Add.1, A/60/159 and Add.1–3, A/61/133 and Add.1–3 and A/62/158 and Add.1 and 2.

Requests the Secretary-General, within available resources:

To continue the practice of sending an annual note verbale to Member States requesting the submission of data to the United Nations system for the standardized reporting of military expenditures, together with the reporting format and related instructions, and to publish in a timely fashion in appropriate United Nations media the due date for transmitting data on military expenditures;

To circulate annually the reports on military expenditures as received from Member States;

To establish a group of governmental experts, on the basis of equitable geographical representation, to review the operation and further development of the Standardized Instrument for Reporting Military Expenditures, commencing in 2010, taking into account the views expressed by Member States on the subject and the reports of the Secretary-General on objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures, and to transmit the report of the group of experts to the General Assembly for consideration at its sixty-sixth session;

To continue consultations with relevant international bodies, with a view to ascertaining requirements for adjusting the present instrument, with a view to encouraging wider participation, and to make recommendations, based on the outcome of those consultations and taking into account the views of Member States, on necessary changes to the content and structure of the standardized reporting system;

To encourage relevant international bodies and organizations to promote transparency of military expenditures and to consult with those bodies and organizations with emphasis on examining possibilities for enhancing complementarity among international and regional reporting systems and for exchanging related information between those bodies and the United Nations;

To encourage the United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament in Africa, in Asia and the Pacific, and in Latin America and the Caribbean to assist Member States in their regions in enhancing their knowledge of the standardized reporting system;

To promote international and regional/subregional symposiums and training seminars to explain the purpose of the standardized reporting system and to give relevant technical instructions;

To report on experiences gained during such symposiums and training seminars;

Encourages Member States:

To inform the Secretary-General about possible problems with the standardized reporting system and their reasons for not submitting the requested data;

To continue to provide the Secretary-General, in time for deliberation by the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session, with their views and suggestions on ways and means to strengthen and broaden participation in the standardized reporting system, including necessary changes to its content and structure;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-fourth session the item entitled “Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures”.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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