This regional conference on 'Arms Control Mechanisms in the Middle East' was organized by Permanent Peace Movement (PPM), with support from the German Federal Foreign Office. It focused on international instruments for the control of conventional weapons, such as the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UNPoA); the International Tracing Instrument (ITI) and the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). 41 participants from 15 Arab and 4 European states were briefed on the technical details of these international arms controls instruments. The conference participants included representatives from the security sector, such as the army, police, customs and internal security, the ministries of foreign affairs of the different countries, the respective national parliaments and civil society. The conference addressed the question of how national focal points could be established and collect data on arms imports and arms transfers. To this purpose during day 3 in interactive sessions the participants split into working groups according to their region and elaborated how national focal points, and national coalitions for arms control could be established in their respective countries.