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BRUSSELS — European Union foreign affairs ministers have voiced strong support for the upcoming U.N. Arms Trade Treaty negotiations in New York from July 2 to July 27.
Following a meeting here June 25, the ministers said in a statement that the treaty “should establish the highest possible common international standards to regulate legal trade in conventional weapons,” and that “the treaty will make trade in arms more responsible and transparent, thus contributing to reinforcing peace and security, regional stability and sustainable social and economic development.”
Arguing for “a robust and strong Arms Trade Treaty, which should be relevant to all U.N. Member States and can therefore be universal,” they add that they want the treaty to include in its scope “all military conventional weapons and systems, including small arms and light weapons, munitions, related technology, and parts and components.
“The Treaty should require controls on transfers and brokering of conventional weapons covered by the scope of the Treaty. Different control provisions for different types of transfers should be foreseen,” the foreign ministers said in the statement.
The ministers also want a treaty with “clear and strong parameters, against which arms exports and brokering should be assessed. The need for strong parameters is particularly relevant to ensure that arms would not be transferred if there is a substantial risk that they might be used to violate human rights or international humanitarian law,” the ministers said.
“In order to make global trade in arms more responsible, the Treaty should contain credible and effective transparency provisions,” and that “States Parties should report on transfers authorized to an appropriate level of detail, as required by the Treaty.”
