Financial and institutional constraints facing the ATT
The ATT has continually operated under the threat of significant financial constraints, particularly due to the delay or lack of payment of assessed contributions by States Parties and Signatories. Coupled with a small infrastructure consisting of four staff members, there are limitations on what the Secretariat can do to support States to work towards the ATT’s Object and Purpose. This environment is exacerbated by broader financial crises across the multilateral space, governments and civil society: organisations are required to ruthlessly prioritise resources and do less with less.
Risks of over-ambition in a constrained environment
The development and implementation of a strategy, despite seeking to clearly assign priorities, tasks and goals, is a risk in itself. A strategy that is too ambitious or mandates the creation of new mechanisms and tasks without due consideration for the current fiscal or operational environment across the ATT community risks failure to deliver on the proposed ambition from the outset.
Aligning strategy, resources and delivery capacity
The strategy, therefore, could provide a framework for aligning ambition with the available financial and human resources, ensuring that there is a more effective use of funds rather than blanket increases on assessed contributions. Following agreement on the strategy’s purpose, this framework could establish what the strategy needs to be delivered effectively, with the financial and human resources needed sequenced accordingly so that tasks and budget are distributed realistically and have the greatest strategic value.
Addressing financial sustainability and political buy-in
The historic financial deficit of the ATT could also be addressed by the ATT strategy, so that the Treaty is set up to achieve its goals and overall vision. This could include ensuring better utilisation of payment plans for States struggling to meet their financial commitments, as well as identifying potential alternative funding avenues, for example, a dedicated funding exercise, or securing private sector funding. In order to better make the case to contribute financially to the ATT, the strategy could, overall, seek to strengthen, and make more accessible, the Treaty’s impact narrative to better encourage political buy-in and offer opportunity for both States Parties and non-States Parties to re-engage.