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March 19, 2013

U.S. Role Seen as Key in Push for Global Arms Deal 
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Representatives from roughly 150 countries are meeting in New York in a
bid to negotiate the world's first-ever global arms treaty. The treaty's
fate could rest largely on the United States, which leads the world in
global arms exports. The United States backed out of last year's talks,
along with Russia and China, saying it wanted more time. The National
Rifle Association has thrown its weight against a potential treaty,
vowing to block its ratification in the United States. U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a deal on Monday.

Ban Ki-moon: "This is no doubt a difficult issue. Yet the absence of the
rule of law in the conventional arms trade defies explanation. We have
international standards regulating everything from T-shirts to toys to
tomatoes. There are international regulations for furniture. That means
there are common standards for the global trade in armchairs, but not
the global trade in arms."

 

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