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Global gun control treaty sought in U.N.
By CHARLES J. HANLEY
The Associated Press
Oct. 01, 2007
UNITED NATIONS | Britain, Japan, Australia and others are pushing for an unprecedented treaty regulating the arms trade worldwide.
It’s a campaign sure to last years and to pit them against a determined American foe, the National Rifle Association.
In what U.N. officials say is an “overwhelming” response, almost 100 governments have submitted ideas for such a treaty, to be reviewed over the next year. There’s an “extremely urgent” need for controls on the international gun trade, says Kenya, echoing the sentiment in much of guns-besieged Africa.
But in the U.S., the NRA says it sees a creeping attempt to limit civilian gun ownership within nations — even though the focus is on setting standards for exports and imports.
The international issues “necessarily will come to involve at some point domestic laws and policies regarding firearms,” said former congressman Bob Barr.
“That’s not what we’re looking at here,” countered Greg Puley, of the Control Arms coalition of pro-treaty advocacy groups. “The point is to control trade in weapons that contribute to conflict and atrocities.”
Alone among the world’s top 10 arms suppliers, the United States — by far the biggest, with almost $13 billion in arms export agreements in 2005 — has not filed a requested report to the United Nations with its views on a treaty.
“The United States has not yet decided whether it will or will not participate in (the review), and thus we will have no submission at this time,” Richard Kidd, a deputy assistant secretary of state, said.
The treaty campaign may encounter resistance beyond Washington as well. The reports from Russia and China, two other big arms exporters, offered only lukewarm endorsement for stricter controls.
Treaty advocates favor standardizing export-import documents for weapons, and requiring governments to exchange information about weapons transfers, to ensure that the end-use criteria are being met.
Barr said the NRA fears that any international “watch list” of gun purchasers might violate U.S. privacy rights. In addition, he said, U.S. firearms manufacturers are “extremely concerned” about trade restrictions.
Britain, Canada, France and others propose a treaty that would cover the full range of conventional weapons, from handguns to tanks and combat aircraft.
But concerns about illicit sales and smuggling have mostly focused on AK-47 assault rifles and other smaller weapons, especially in Africa.
In the next step, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected this month to name an experts’ group from two dozen countries to review the submissions of 98 governments and report back to the General Assembly in the fall of 2008 on what kind of arms trade treaty might be feasible.
Global gun control treaty sought in U.N.
By CHARLES J. HANLEY
The Associated Press
Oct. 01, 2007
UNITED NATIONS | Britain, Japan, Australia and others are pushing for an unprecedented treaty regulating the arms trade worldwide.
It’s a campaign sure to last years and to pit them against a determined American foe, the National Rifle Association.
In what U.N. officials say is an “overwhelming” response, almost 100 governments have submitted ideas for such a treaty, to be reviewed over the next year. There’s an “extremely urgent” need for controls on the international gun trade, says Kenya, echoing the sentiment in much of guns-besieged Africa.
But in the U.S., the NRA says it sees a creeping attempt to limit civilian gun ownership within nations — even though the focus is on setting standards for exports and imports.
The international issues “necessarily will come to involve at some point domestic laws and policies regarding firearms,” said former congressman Bob Barr.
“That’s not what we’re looking at here,” countered Greg Puley, of the Control Arms coalition of pro-treaty advocacy groups. “The point is to control trade in weapons that contribute to conflict and atrocities.”
Alone among the world’s top 10 arms suppliers, the United States — by far the biggest, with almost $13 billion in arms export agreements in 2005 — has not filed a requested report to the United Nations with its views on a treaty.
“The United States has not yet decided whether it will or will not participate in (the review), and thus we will have no submission at this time,” Richard Kidd, a deputy assistant secretary of state, said.
The treaty campaign may encounter resistance beyond Washington as well. The reports from Russia and China, two other big arms exporters, offered only lukewarm endorsement for stricter controls.
Treaty advocates favor standardizing export-import documents for weapons, and requiring governments to exchange information about weapons transfers, to ensure that the end-use criteria are being met.
Barr said the NRA fears that any international “watch list” of gun purchasers might violate U.S. privacy rights. In addition, he said, U.S. firearms manufacturers are “extremely concerned” about trade restrictions.
Britain, Canada, France and others propose a treaty that would cover the full range of conventional weapons, from handguns to tanks and combat aircraft.
But concerns about illicit sales and smuggling have mostly focused on AK-47 assault rifles and other smaller weapons, especially in Africa.
In the next step, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected this month to name an experts’ group from two dozen countries to review the submissions of 98 governments and report back to the General Assembly in the fall of 2008 on what kind of arms trade treaty might be feasible.