 유엔이 12일 무기거래통제와 관련해 협상을 개시한 가운데 국제앰네스티와 다른 주요 NGO들은 각국이 새로운 무기거래조약을 작성할 것을 요청했다.192개 정부를 각각 대표하는 협상가들은 무기거래를 통제하고 수천명의 생명을 구할 수 있는 새로운 조약을 위해 교섭을 개시했다.
무기거래통제캠페인은 국제앰네스티, 옥스팜(Oxfam), 인스티투토 수 다 파즈(Instituto Sou da Paz) 등을 포함한 시민사회단체들이 공동으로 벌이고 있는 캠페인이다. 이 캠페인은 각국 정부에 모든 무기, 탄약, 관련 장비 통제를 포함하는 강력하고 효과적인 무기거래조약을 만들 것을 요청하고 있다. 현재 재래식 무기의 거래를 통제하는 종합적이고 법적 구속력을 갖는 국제규정이 부재한 상태이며, 각국의 허술한 무기통제로 인해 무기가 분쟁지역이나 심각한 인권침해자들의 수중에 들어가는 경우가 많다. 옥스팜의 안나 맥도날드(Anna Macdonald) 무기거래통제캠페인 총책임자는 “무기거래통제를 더 이상 지연시킬 수 없는 때가 왔다”며 “각국은 가능한 한 매우 강력한 무기거래조약을 만들어 무기가 인권침해자 및 전쟁광의 수중에 들어가지 못하도록 막아야 한다”고 말했다. 이어서 맥도날드 총책임자는 “국가들 간의 무기이송 및 거래를 감독할 확실한 규정이 필요한데, 이것이 그렇게 어려운 일은 아니다”며 “2주 뒤 회원국들은 실질적인 성과를 보여야 하며, 이는 초안을 발표하는 것이다”고 말했다. |
States urged to agree new Arms Trade Treaty
12 July 2010
Amnesty International and other major NGOs have called on governments to draw up a new international arms treaty, as talks about control of the arms trade began at the United Nations on Monday.
Negotiators from 192 governments are set to discuss a new treaty that would regulate the arms trade and could save thousands of lives every year.
The Control Arms Campaign, a civil society network including Amnesty International, Oxfam and Instituto Sou da Paz, has called on governments to draft a robust and effective treaty to control the arms trade, covering all weapons, ammunition and related equipment.
There are currently no comprehensive, legally binding international rules governing the trade in conventional arms, with gaps and loopholes in national controls allowing weapons to end up in conflict zones and in the hands of serious human rights abusers.
“The time for delays and excuses is long gone. Every single country must work to achieve the strongest possible deal to stop arms getting into the hands of human rights abusers and warmonger,” said Anna Macdonald, Oxfam’s Head of the Arms Control Campaign.
“We need clear rules that will oversee how states transfer and regulate the trade in arms; this is a no-brainer. By the end of the next two weeks, member states must have made real progress: and this means delivering a draft text.”
One person every minute dies as a result of armed violence, with thousands more injured and abused every day, according to the Control Arms Campaign. 128 armed conflicts since 1989 have resulted in at least 250,000 deaths each year.
Negotiations are starting four years after the United Nations General Assembly agreed by an overwhelming majority to work toward an Arms Trade Treaty to establish international rules and standards to better regulate the trade.
Just four weeks of negotiations – 120 hours of negotiating time – have been allotted by the UN General Assembly to develop the text of the new international instrument before the final negotiating conference in 2012.
The Control Arms Campaign has called for the treaty to have specific criteria based around international human rights and humanitarian law and sustainable development.
“Half of the world’s poorest people live in states that are at risk of, or experiencing, violent conflict. Conventional arms, especially small arms, light weapons and associated ammunition, are used for the majority of grave human rights violations. Now is the time for an Arms Trade Treaty that really protects people, not just states”, said Daniel Mack, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, Arms Control, Instituto Sou da Paz, São Paulo.
The vast majority of governments in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia have voted in the UN General Assembly since 2006 for the development of the Treaty, In December 2009, 151 of the UN’s 192 states voted to begin formal negotiations. Around 20 states, however, have persistently abstained in the UN votes on the Arms Trade Treaty. ”A small minority of states, however powerful, should not be allowed to stymie progress in New York over the next two weeks.” said Brian Wood, Amnesty International’s head of arms control. “The world urgently needs a bullet-proof Arms Trade Treaty to save lives, protect livelihoods and safeguard human rights.”
