Proposed Arms Trade Treaty in the Hands of GGE Experts

Defend International will continue to support an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.
The UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on a global ATT held its first session in New York 11-15 February. Chaired by Ambassador Roberto Garcيa Moritلn of Argentina, the 28 GGE delegates examined the feasibility, scope and parameters of an ATT.
The experts will report back to the UN General Assembly in October 2008.

NGOs & ATT
IANSA, Oxfam, Saferworld, Defend International and other NGOs are campaigning for the establishment of an international Treaty to stop weapons transfers that fuel conflict and poverty, and to refuse transfers when there is clear risk that the arms will be used to commit serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

An international Arms Trade Treaty will open new avenues for global collaboration. There is a need for standards for specific mechanisms to control brokering activities, licensed production and transfers of weapons.


MENA countries
Several countries in Middle East and North Africa played a key role in the push for an Arms Trade Treaty. Algeria and Egypt are members of GGE and has appointed their experts to the UN to push for arms controls.

The GGE is representing an historical step towards an international instrument to combat the rise in armed violence.


UNIDIR s analysis
An analysis of Member States views on the ATT was released by the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) to coincide with the meeting. The objective of the study is to allow Member States and experts “to compare the information and proposals contained in these views across themes, countries and regions, as well as through statistical clustering”



Resolution 61/89
On 6 December 2006, as many as153 states voted in the UN General Assembly to begin work on an Arms Trade Treaty, 24 states abstained and only the USA voted against.

By resolution 61/89, entitled "Towards an arms trade treaty: establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms", the United Nations General Assembly:

Requested the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States on the feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms, and to submit a report on the subject to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session; (operative paragraph 1).
Last year 100 states responded to the Secretary Generals consultation – more than ten times the usual amount. These views are available online, and in a Report of the Secretary General.

Requested the Secretary-General to establish a group of governmental experts, on the basis of equitable geographical distribution, informed by the report of the Secretary-General submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session, to examine, commencing in 2008, the feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms, and to transmit the report of the group of experts to the Assembly for consideration at its sixty-third session (operative paragraph 2).



The GGE
On September 2007 the Secretary General appointed a Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) from the following 28 countries:
Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and United States.
The GGE will examine the feasibility, scope and parameters of an Arms Trade Treaty and report back to the UN General Assembly in October 2008.



GGE schedule

The GGE will meet in three sessions in New York, as follows:
First session: 11 - 15 February 2008
Second session: 12 -16 May 2008
Third session: 28 July - 8 August 2008


About Defend International
Defend International is an independent, voluntary, non-profit organization. It forms a worldwide community of DI defenders with members, supporters, activists, donors, friends and subscribers in every part of the world.
Defend International is working for advancing democratization; for promoting pluralism; for encouraging dialogue between cultures and civilizations; for securing human rights; for peace, non-violence, tolerance, justice and equality.

For more information please visit DI Web sites:
www.defendinternational.org
http://arabic.defendinternational.org/

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