Amnesty Intl., Oxfam calling for tough arms trade treaty

Wholesale implementation of a new treaty has public support from 153 countries in the UN but will there be sufficient national will to enact change? The arms business in the UK is a major employer and there might be commercial pressures brought to bear.

Britain has an important role to play in the ultimate success or failure of any treaty to control the arms trade. As one of the globe’s biggest exporters of weapons - the UK makes billions annually from their sale - will the country finally put human rights before profits?

The signs so far are not promising, despite proclamations to the contrary, Britain has a chequered record when it comes to selling arms to repressive regimes, including the governments of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

What we want from this treaty is a simple rule to be put in place that all governments have to follow: That is no arms transfers should be authorized if there is a substantial risk that those arms are going to be used in violation of human rights law, in violation of humanitarian law or to fuel poverty or conflict. Governments should make that assessment before they allow the transfer of any arms or ammunition out of their country or into their country.

Disappointingly for many, there is no move to ban the arms trade all together as nation states have the right to protect their borders but what most will agree on is this should not run counter to the interest of the people.