A proposed treaty to regulate the arms trade failed to be agreed upon at the United Nations on Friday, with no decision having been made.
Over 170 countries have been in New York to negotiate the terms of the treaty, which could have been vetoed by any one country. With no consensus having been reached, further talks may occur at the UN General Assembly by the end of the year.
Commenting on the failure to reach an agreement, British foreign secretary, William Hague said,
However a Western diplomat told the AFP,
Over 170 countries have been in New York to negotiate the terms of the treaty, which could have been vetoed by any one country. With no consensus having been reached, further talks may occur at the UN General Assembly by the end of the year.
Commenting on the failure to reach an agreement, British foreign secretary, William Hague said,
"This is not the result we wanted. But we have made huge progress. The chair's draft treaty has our full support as well as that of the great majority of other states. But to be fully effective, the treaty will need very broad – ideally universal – participation. It is clear that more time is needed to reach the widest possible agreement."UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also expressed “disappointment” at the negotiations, stating,
"The conference's inability to conclude its work on this much-awaited ATT, despite years of effort of member states and civil society from many countries, is a setback,"Activists, who earlier criticised the draft treaty for having "ambiguities and loopholes", said that a small group of states including Syria, North Korea, Iran, Egypt and Algeria were opposing arms control during the talks.
However a Western diplomat told the AFP,
"It's the fault of the United States that we failed… They derailed the process and we will have to wait for the US presidential elections"Earlier 51 American senators wrote to the US administration, urging them not to sign the treaty, saying,
“As defenders of the right of Americans to keep and bear arms, we write to express our grave concern about the dangers posed by the United Nations’ arms trade treaty.”Scott Stedjan, a senior policy adviser at Oxfam America, commented,
"Moving forward, President Obama must show the political courage required to make a strong treaty that contains strong rules on human rights a reality."
