50th country ratifies Global Arms Trade Treaty
On 2 April 2013, after 20 years of determined lobbying and campaigning by Amnesty International and partner NGOs, the UN General Assembly voted decisively to adopt the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) text. Now the treaty is on the cusp of becoming international law which could change the lives of millions.
Who is responsible for this situation?
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States of America, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom – are the world’s largest arms traders. Germany, Israel, Italy, Sweden, South Africa, Spain, Belgium and Ukraine are also large arms traders.
What is the Arms Trade Treaty and how can it make a difference?
The ATT is an international treaty that sets out for the first time robust global rules to stop arms going to human rights abusers. The ATT includes a number of rules to stop the flow of weapons, munitions and related items to countries when it is known they would be used to commit or facilitate genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or other serious violations of human rights. Each state must assess if there is a substantial risk that a proposed arms export to another country will contribute to serious human rights abuses, and if so those arms must not be sent.
What does ‘enters into force’ actually mean?
This is when the rules of the treaty come into effect, and it becomes binding international law on all countries that have ratified the ATT. The ATT enters into force 90 days after its 50th ratification. Since this happened on 25 September 2014, the treaty will become international law on 25 December 2014.
Have the world’s major arms exporters adopted the treaty in their law?
Five of the top 10 arms exporters – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK have already ratified the ATT. While the USA is yet to ratify it has signed the treaty. There has been resistance to ratification from other major arms producers like China, Canada, Israel and Russia.
http://www.amnesty.org./en/news/global-arms-trade-treaty-beginners-guide-50th-ratification-update-2014-09-25
The Obama administration has signed the ATT but Congress, of course, has not ratified it and is not likely to do so. The ATT is one of several UN treaties that the far-right hates because agreeing to any treaty infringes on national sovereignty. When we ratify an international treaty we agree to do something or not do something which limits our freedom to do whatever we want to do.
