United Nations Fails To Agree Landmark Arms-Trade Treaty
Published Saturday, 28 July 2012 10:29 | Written by Amwal Al Ghad
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 U.N. General Assembly and adopted with a two-thirds majority vote. Diplomats said there could be a vote by the end of the year.
"We feel that we could have agreed (a treaty). It is disappointing that more time is needed. But an arms-trade treaty is coming - not today - but soon. We've taken a big step forward," said a spokesman for Britain's delegation.
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.
Reuters
Most Popular »
- Egypt’s Morsi Attends African Union’s 50th Anniversary Summit In Ethiopia
- Amid Mostly Red Performance, Egypt’s Benchmark Falls 1.56% In Week
- Egypt’s Benchmark Halts One-Day Rally, Opens Below 5355 Pts
- Egypt’s MSC Urges Petroleum To Secure Smart Petrol Cards
- Egypt's Morsi to Participate in 21st African Union Summit




