UN fails to agree arms-trade treaty

PanARMENIAN.Net - Delegations from around the world failed on Friday, July 27 to agree a landmark UN arms-trade treaty to regulate the more than $60 billion industry, opting for further talks and a possible UN General Assembly vote by the end of the year, diplomats said, according to Reuters.

More than 170 countries have spent the past month in New York negotiating a treaty, which needed to be adopted by consensus, so any one country effectively could have vetoed a deal. Instead, no decision was taken on a draft treaty.

But this leaves the door open for further talks and a draft arms-trade treaty could be brought to the 193-nation UN General Assembly and adopted with a two-thirds majority vote. Diplomats said there could be a vote by the end of the year.

One person every minute dies from armed violence around the world, and arms control activists say a convention is needed to prevent illicitly traded guns from pouring into conflict zones and fueling wars and atrocities. They cited conflicts in Syria and elsewhere as examples of why a treaty is necessary.

While most UN member states favored a strong treaty, activists said there was a small minority of states, including Syria, North Korea, Iran, Egypt and Algeria, who loudly voiced opposition to global arms control throughout the negotiations.

But ultimately, arms-control activists blamed the United States and Russia for the inability to reach a decision on Friday, as both countries said there was not enough time left for them to clarify and resolve issues they had with the draft treaty.

The draft arms-trade treaty under negotiation required countries to assess if a proposed arms export could be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian or human rights law.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed disappointment the meetings were inconclusive but was encouraged U.N. members will continue pursuing "this noble goal."

"There is already considerable common ground and states can build on the hard work that has been done during these negotiations," he said.