Gun control debate about to go international

Source: Associated Press

July 24, 2012 11:37 PM
Gun control debate about to go international

(AP) UNITED NATIONS - The first draft of a new U.N. treaty to regulate the multibillion dollar global arms trade sparked criticism Tuesday from campaigners seeking to keep illegal weapons from fighters, criminals and terrorists - and demands for changes before Friday's deadline for action.

Peter Herby of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross said that every element in the draft has "major loopholes," and he warned that if it's adopted there's "a very high risk" the treaty would continue the status quo and allow countries to just continue doing what they're doing now or even do less.

But Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association and Suzanne Nossel, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said that with a few key fixes the treaty could reduce the impact of the illicit arms trade and save lives and should be supported by the Obama administration.

The U.N. General Assembly voted in December 2006 to work toward a treaty regulating the growing arms trade, now valued at about $60 billion, with the U.S. casting a "no" vote. In October 2009, the Obama administration reversed the Bush administration's position and supported an assembly resolution to hold four preparatory meetings and a four-week U.N. conference in 2012 to draft an arms trade treaty.


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