Representatives from the world’s countries have gathered in New York is for the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty. The conference began on July 2 and continues through July 27.
The negotiations of the Arms Trade Treaty are a part of the most important initiative ever created regarding conventional arms regulation within the United Nations system.
The current global arms trade is poorly regulated. In fact, there are more rules guiding the inter-state trade of fruits and vegetables than tanks and machine guns. To this day, there remains no set of internationally agreed upon standards to ensure that arms are only being transferred for appropriate use. The goal of this conference is to create a robust arms trade treaty that will make a difference to the millions of people confronted with insecurity, deprivation and fear due to the poorly regulated transfer of weapons and ammunition across the globe.
The World Council of Churches is taking the lead among Christian NGOs in advocating for a strong arms trade treaty. They are reporting on the negotiations on Facebook and on Twitter – see @ArmsTreatyNow.
Control Arms provides an opportunity to sign a petition in support of the arms trade treaty.
Additionally, in cooperation with director Minos Papas and producer Louis Belanger, Control Arms is releasing “A Short Film about Guns.” This short film offers powerful perspectives with one clear message: we need a strong Arms Trade Treaty and we need it now.
Finally, many interesting articles provide unique insights on the global arms trade as well as the proceedings of the conference. For example:
- Inside the UN Arms Trade Treaty Talks
- Arms Trade Treaty: 193 Voices
- Retired Maj. Gen. Roger R. Blunt: Setting the Record Straight on the UN Arms Trade Treaty
Thanks to Sophie Beal for work on this post.