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| Global Arms Treaty Enters into Force on Wednesday |
| 2014-12-25 |
| [AnNahar] A treaty laying down international rules for the $85 billion dollar global arms trade goes into force on Wednesday with campaigners vowing to make sure it is strictly implemented. The United States -- by far the world's largest arms producer and exporter -- has signed the treaty, but has yet to ratify it. Other key exporters such as La Belle France, Britannia and Germany have ratified the charter and pledged to adhere to its strict criteria aimed at cutting off weapons supplies to human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... violators worldwide. "For too long, arms and ammunition have been traded with few questions asked about whose lives they will destroy," said Anna Macdonald, director of the Control Arms coalition of non-governmental organizations. "The new Arms Trade Treaty which enters into force this week will bring that to an end." "It is now finally against international law to put weapons into the hands of human rights abusers and dictators," she said. A total of 130 countries have signed the treaty and 60 have ratified it, including Israel which joined the movement just this month. Campaigners however say much work lies ahead to implement the treaty, with a first meeting of the states parties to the treaty to be held around September next year. Decisions will have to be made about the financing mechanisms for the pact and setting up a secretariat to oversee its implementation. The first major arms accord since the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the ATT covers international transfers of everything from tanks to combat aircraft to missiles, as well as small arms. The treaty compels countries to set up national controls on arms exports. States must assess whether a weapon could be used to circumvent an international embargo, be used for genocide and war crimes or be used by gunnies and organized crime. "If robustly implemented, this treaty has the potential to save many lives and offer much needed protection to vulnerable civilians around the world," said Macdonald. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #5 Clinton never even bothered to submit Kyoto to the Senate for ratification. That is why you heard so much about global warming being Bush's fault. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2014-12-25 22:14 |
| #4 Senate was why we never actually signed the Kyoto |
| Posted by: Barbara 2014-12-25 20:04 |
| #3 Alan, I don't think that is going to happen; Senate must ratify treaties, and since the current Senate is in recess, and the incoming one is Republican, very doubtful the needed votes are there. Just because it was signed doesn't mean its any good ( think a bounced check) |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2014-12-25 19:54 |
| #2 Two words: Second Amendment. It this regime tries to abrogate the constitution through a treaty, things will get ugly. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-12-25 16:53 |
| #1 "It is now finally against international law to put weapons into the hands of |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-12-25 10:42 |