US President Barack Obama’s administration signed a UN treaty on Wednesday to track exports of firearms and other conventional weapons, offering a major boost to the pact despite opposition at home.
The United States is the world’s largest exporter of conventional arms, accounting for 30 per cent of the $90 billion global industry. The landmark treaty aims to curb weapons shipments to extremists and conflict areas.
Secretary of State John Kerry, signing on behalf of the United States, in an oversized book at the UN headquarters, called the treaty a “significant step” for global peace efforts.
“This is about keeping weapons out of the hands of terrorists and rogue actors,” Kerry said after signing the Arms Trade Treaty in front of UN officials.
“This treaty strengthens our security and builds global security without undermining the legitimate international trade in conventional arms,” he said.
A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hailed the US signature as having “particular significance” and said the treaty would “contribute to efforts to reduce insecurity and suffering for people on all continents.”
Kerry devoted much of his remarks to assuaging concerns inside the United States, where the weapons industry holds sizable political sway.
The Senate needs to ratify the treaty, which has quickly galvanized US conservatives who are deeply suspicious of both gun regulations and the United Nations.
“This treaty will not diminish anyone’s freedom,” Kerry said.
“In fact, the treaty recognizes the freedom of both individuals and states to obtain, possess and use arms for legitimate purposes,” he said.
If the Senate refuses to ratify the treaty, the United States could face the same situation as under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in which it helped draft the pact but remained a conspicuous holdout.
“There’s no possible way that he’ll have the votes,” Republican Senator Jim Inhofe said of Kerry and the arms treaty.
Inhofe likened the signature to the trip by Kerry, then a senator, to the 2009 UN summit in Copenhagen where he vowed US action on climate change. Legislation ultimately died in the Senate.
“He’s doing it just for theater,” Inhofe told AFP in Washington.
The United States hesitated at finalizing the arms treaty as Obama faced re-election last year.
But the United States was part of efforts that sealed the treaty earlier this year, although critics say it watered it down to avoid any international enforcement.
A tough fight ahead:
Only three nations — Iran, North Korea and Syria — voted against the treaty at the UN General Assembly on April 2.
But 23 others abstained, including major players China, India and Russia.
Russia, which along with Iran is the chief supporter of Syria’s embattled President Bashar al-Assad, said that the treaty was too vague and could be used for political ends.
The treaty requires states to prohibit shipments of weapons that could be used in human rights violations including “attacks directed against civilian objects.”
