Arms Trade Treaty Future Uncertain

A year-old British initiative to regulate the global conventional arms trade is gaining some support, but top arms suppliers have yet to embrace it and the United States has questioned its value.

Last September, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said his government would seek global standards for worldwide exports of conventional arms because of the “carnage and the terror” that they have wrought. Conventional arms range from pistols and machine guns to tanks, attack helicopters, and combat aircraft.

London sought support for its proposal, known as the Arms Trade Treaty, when top officials and leaders of the Group of Eight met in June and July, but the initiative received a mixed welcome. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States comprise the group.

Following their separate meetings, the foreign ministers and the heads of state released statements agreeing that developing a “common understanding of governments’ responsibilities would be an important step [toward] tackling the undesirable proliferation of conventional arms.” They added that a need exists for “further work to build a consensus for action.” However, they did not endorse the treaty or schedule additional talks.

The United States, the world’s leading arms exporter, has made known its misgivings. In a July 5 letter to U.S. nongovernmental supporters of the treaty, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Rose Likins wrote, “Any set of restrictions that could gain consensus would necessarily be a lowest common denominator that would not be an effective brake on weapons proliferation.”

Still, British diplomatic sources told Arms Control Today that London will continue consultations with Washington while promoting the accord elsewhere. They said future meetings on the treaty are planned, but they declined to provide specifics.
Despite Washington’s cold shoulder, the proposed treaty has won some favor. Several African countries have endorsed it, as have Colombia, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Turkey.

In the past, countries have been unable to achieve binding restrictions on the global conventional arms trade. Instead, agreement has been limited to voluntary transparency measures. The Wassenaar Arrangement calls on its 39 members to exchange information on their arms exports every six months, while the UN Register of Conventional Arms calls on all countries to report annually on their arms imports and exports.