Global Arms Trade Treaty
Global Arms Trade Treaty Campaign
TUC reaction
27 October 2006
The TUC has welcomed the decision last night at the United Nations to agree to negotiate a global Arms Trade Treaty. The majority of the world's governments took the first step towards preventing international arms transfers that fuel conflict, poverty and serious human rights violations. The vote comes three years after the launch of a campaign which has seen over a million people in 170 countries calling for a Treaty.
Going into the vote, the resolution was co-sponsored by 116 governments; a huge number for such a bold initiative. The vote in the UN General Assembly's First Committee is the first time that governments have voted on the proposal to develop an Arms Trade Treaty, and support was overwhelming: 139 voted yes, with only the United States voting against. Support was particularly strong in Africa, Latin America and Europe. Work on the Treaty will begin in early 2007 when the new UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, will begin to canvass the views of all member states to establish the foundations of the Treaty.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'The TUC supports the international Arms Trade Treaty because of the suffering that an uncontrolled arms trade can cause, not least to women who are the main victims of violence worldwide. Unions all around the globe stand for peace - we prefer negotiation to confrontation, and multilateral decision-making to unilateral action. That's why we believe that the UN is the right place to create global rules for managing the arms trade.'
Details of the campaign, and how to get involved, are at www.controlarms.org/index.htm
Trade union leaders in the UK supporting the campaign are profiled at www.controlarms.org
The Foreign Secretary's reaction to the UN decision is at
Last month, Congress carried the following resolution in support of the campaign:
Congress welcomes the UK Government's commitment to ensure negotiations for an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) begin 'no later than 2006' and their aim to table a resolution to open negotiations at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) later this month.
Congress notes that Amnesty International and Oxfam have combined with IANSA to campaign for an ATT through the Control Arms Campaign and encourages trade unions to support this campaign.
Congress notes that international support for an ATT is growing with over 50 supportive countries but more are needed to pass the resolution by a majority vote and take the initiative forward.
Currently, there is no comprehensive international agreement governing the transfer of weapons, yet over 1,000 people are needlessly killed by armed violence every day.
Congress notes that existing loopholes in UK arms control legislation can undermine the UK's credibility on this issue. 2007 is the three-year review of this legislation.
Congress calls on the UK Government to:
i) encourage as many governments as possible to support a resolution to open negotiations for an ATT at the UNGA, based on states' existing responsibilities under international human rights and humanitarian law and for those negotiations to include tough enforcement and monitoring mechanisms and be completed within the fastest possible timeframe; and
ii) ensure the review of UK legislation upholds the 2001 manifesto commitment to regulate arms brokers and traffickers wherever they are located, and at a minimum for these to include full extra-territorial controls for those involved in brokering and trafficking of small arms, light weapons and ammunition.
Congress calls on the General Council to raise these concerns with the UK Government.
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