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Conventional Arms Control

  • On Eve of International Mine Ban Treaty Summit, Arms Control and Humanitarian Experts Urge U.S. to Join Treaty - Transcript Available
    ACA Events
    November 18, 2009

    Panelists: Wendy Batson, Steve Goose, Jeff Abramson
  • MEDIA ADVISORY: Arms Experts Welcome U.S. Support for Arms Trade Treaty
    Press Room
    October 15, 2009

    Arms control experts welcomed yesterday's statement by the United States supporting a legally binding treaty to regulate the trade of conventional weapons. The United States was the only country to vote against two previous UN resolutions related to the treaty, but yesterday the Obama administration expressed support for a UN process that could lead to negotiation of such a treaty in 2012.(Continue)
  • U.S. Expands Lead in Shrinking Arms Market
    Arms Control Today
    October 5, 2009

    In the midst of a global recession that reduced the global demand for weapons, the United States managed to expand its share of worldwide arms agreements significantly in 2008, according to a September report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Last year, developing countries continued to be the most important markets for arms sales, the report said.
  • Arms Collection Begins in Southern Sudan
    Arms Control Today
    September 4, 2009

    Authorities in Sudan have begun a series of weapons collection programs aimed at increasing security in the semiautonomous southern region of the country as part of an effort to increase stability there prior to national elections scheduled for April. The disarmament campaigns, which require civilians and the military to give up small arms, are mandated by a 2005 peace agreement. But the financial and political weakness of southern Sudan’s government has led some observers to question its ability to carry out the campaigns successfully, in spite of assistance from the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). (Continue)
  • Russia Vetoes UN Mission in Georgia
    Arms Control Today
    July 2, 2009

    Russia voted against extending the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) in the Security Council June 15, scuttling a last-minute effort to renew the mission's mandate and dealing another blow to the already strained Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. (Continue)
  • Toward a Legally Binding Arms Trade Treaty: An Interview with Bill Rammell
    Arms Control Today
    June 4, 2009

    Bill Rammell serves as minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs in the United Kingdom. His responsibilities encompass the Middle East, including Iraq and Iran; counterterrorism; counterproliferation; the Far East and Southeast Asia; North America; drugs and international crime; and migration policy. Arms Control Today met with Rammell May 5 to discuss the United Kingdom's efforts on an arms trade treaty and other international arms control issues. (Continue)
  • ACA Joins in Calling for Obama to Review Cluster Munitions and Landmine Policy
    Links
    February 10, 2009

    Letter to the Obama Administration from 67 national organizations, requesting a review of U.S. policy on landmines and cluster bombs.
  • Landmine Ban Deadline Extended
    Arms Control Today
    January 16, 2009

    At the ninth meeting of states-parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Convention, also referred to as the Ottawa Convention, in November 2008, 15 countries requested and received extensions to their 2009 demining deadlines. The United Kingdom received a 10-year extension, the maximum possible, and agreed to "proceed immediately with the clearance of three mined areas" and to provide a detailed update and demining plan by June 30, 2010. Prior to the extension, the country had been criticized for failing to take action to clear mine-impacted areas of the Falkland Islands, which are also claimed by Argentina. Clearance deadline extensions of varying lengths were also granted to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chad, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Jordan, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Senegal, Thailand, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. (Continue)
  • Arms Trade Treaty Discussion Creeps Forward
    Arms Control Today
    December 4, 2008

    More than 140 countries voted at the UN First Committee to continue discussion next year on the creation of a global arms trade treaty, marking some progress on a resolution first passed in 2006. The United States voted against the measure and has not yet decided whether to continue its participation in the discussions. With or without the world's top arms trader, significant hurdles exist in reaching a legally binding instrument. Continued slow progress raises the possibility that countries may opt to fashion a treaty outside of traditional UN mechanisms, as was recently done in concluding a cluster munitions agreement. (Continue)
  • Experts Urge Obama Administration Review U.S. Cluster Munitions Policy and Support New Global Treaty
    Press Room
    December 1, 2008

    President-elect Obama's national security team will have to grapple with a number of issues, including U.S. policy on certain types of conventional munitions that harm civilians. An early decision will be how to respond to the new Convention on Cluster Munitions, which 100 or more world leaders are expected to sign beginning tomorrow in Oslo. (Continue)