UN begins 10-day talks on conventional-arms treaty

First global attempt to regulate international trade worth $70 billion

Representatives from almost 200 United Nations member states have gathered in New York City to hammer out a binding international treaty that will end unregulated sales of conventional arms.

If approved, the treaty will become the first global attempt to regulate the world's $70 billion trade of all conventional weapons.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a pact that "regulates international transfers of both weapons and ammunition and provides for common standards for exporting states", Reuters reported.

"These standards are important for assessing the risks that transferred weapons are not used to fuel conflict, arm criminals or abet violations of international humanitarian or human rights law," he said.

China on Tuesday applauded the move, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei saying that "Beijing expects that all parties will work jointly to achieve a practical and widely accept the treaty. China has been participating in the negotiations on arms-trade regulation in an responsible and constructive manner".

China recognizes the many problems caused by the illegal trade of conventional arms, and it supports arms trade in a reasonable and appropriate way, Hong added.

The UN General Assembly voted in December to resume negotiations after a drafting conference in July 2012 collapsed when the United States, followed by Russia and China, requested more time.

Experts said the outcome of the 10-day negotiation session is hard to predict because the consent of all the member states is needed to pass the treaty.

The negotiations are expected to be difficult as some European nations seek a high threshold and strictly binding treaty, a condition that major arms-trade nations may object to, said Guo Xiaobing, deputy chief of the Institute of Security and Arms Control Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

"US attitudes concerning the ammunition trade and its domestic policy on gun administration pose an unknown variable in the success of the negotiations," Guo said.

According to Reuters, US Secretary of State John Kerry voiced conditional support for the treaty on Friday, saying Washington was "steadfast in its commitment to achieve a strong and effective Arms Trade Treaty that helps address the adverse effects of the international arms trade on global peace and stability".

The volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons was 17 percent higher between 2008 and 2012 than it was between 2003 and 2007, according to a report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on Monday.

The US and Russia kept the largest share of the world's arms sales during 2008-12, with the US accounting for 30 percent and Russia 26 percent, the report said.

Despite many obstacles, observers said there is still a good chance that a treaty will be approved at the end of this conference to fill in the current blanks in regulation of the world's illegal arms trade.

Li Hong, secretary-general of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, said in recent media interviews that any attempts to thwart the treaty will face huge diplomatic pressure since the international community has made a tremendous effort for its approval.

All major arms traders have made their core concerns visible during previous negotiations, so a binding treaty in the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation is likely to be accepted, he said.

"However, its integrity and authorization in different states will be another problem," he added.

Reuters contributed to this story.

puzhendong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/20/2013 page11)