State Dept. on Outcome at Arms Trade Treaty Conference
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
July 27, 2012
2012/1235
STATEMENT BY VICTORIA NULAND, SPOKESPERSON
Arms Trade Treaty Conference
The United States supports the outcome today at the Arms Trade Treaty
Conference. While the Conference ran out of time to reach consensus on a text,
it will report its results and the draft text considered back to the UN General
Assembly (UNGA). The United States supports a second round of negotiations,
conducted on the basis of consensus, on the Treaty next year; we do not support
a vote in the UNGA on the current text. The illicit trafficking of conventional
arms is an important national security concern for the United States. While we
sought to conclude this month's negotiations with a Treaty, more time is a
reasonable request for such a complex and critical issue. The current text
reflects considerable positive progress, but it needs further review and
refinement.
With that in mind, we will continue to work towards an Arms Trade Treaty
that will contribute to international security, protect the sovereign right of
states to conduct legitimate arms trade, and meet the objectives and concerns
that we have been articulating throughout the negotiation, including not
infringing on the constitutional right of our citizens to bear arms. The United
States took a principled stand throughout these negotiations that international
trade in conventional arms is a legitimate enterprise that is and should remain
regulated by the individual nations themselves, and we continue to believe that
any Arms Trade Treaty should require states to develop their own national
regulations and controls and strengthen the rule of law regarding arms
sales.
We support an Arms Trade Treaty because we believe it will make a valuable
contribution to global security by helping to stem illicit arms transfers, and
we will continue to look for ways for the international community to work
together to improve the international arms transfer regime so that weapons
aren't transferred to people who would abuse them.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State.)
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