Amnesty: Neuer Vertragsentwurf macht Hoffnung - Letzter Tag bei den Verhandlungen über einen Waffenhandelskontrollvertrag in New York

New York/Berlin, 27. Juli 2012 - Bei den Verhandlungen über einen Waffenhandelskontrollvertrag (ATT) in New York wurde gestern ein überarbeiteter Vertragsentwurf vorgelegt. Amnesty sieht darin eine deutliche Verbesserung gegenüber dem ersten Entwurf. Eine große Schwachstelle bleibt: Nach wie vor sollen nur der kommerzielle Waffenhandel und nicht alle Arten von Rüstungstransfers von dem Vertrag erfasst sein.

Hopes raised for strong Arms Trade Treaty
The prospect of reaching a historic global deal to end the devastation caused by the irresponsible
and poorly regulated arms trade moved a step closer on Thursday, Amnesty International said.
A final draft of an Arms Trade Treaty [ATT] text was published at the UN in New York that
addressed a number of potentially serious flaws contained in a previous text.

The White House and other major powers, including the United Kingdom and France are
understood to have been closely involved in making the changes.
The month-long negotiations are due to conclude on Friday, in what is expected to be an intense
final day of talks.

“This is a positive step forward in achieving an ATT that, with genuine political will, can protect
human rights,” said Brian Wood, Arms Control Manager at Amnesty International.

“Several major loopholes that would have severely undermined the effectiveness of the treaty have
been addressed, but a few serious concerns remain. We are calling on governments that have
stated they want a robust treaty to do all they can on the last day to ensure the strongest possible
deal is reached.”

If an agreement is reached, for the first time in history, governments would be required under the
treaty to make decisions on arms transfers according to high common standards.
International human rights and humanitarian law remain central to the draft text, demonstrating
the consistent commitment by a large number of governments to ensure that this remains in any
final agreement.

A floor not a ceiling is now proposed for the types of weapons, munitions and equipment to be
covered by the treaty. Ammunition, as well as parts and components for arms, would also be
subject to a much tighter decision-making process before an international transfer can take place.
Essential elements that were previously omitted but have now been addressed include the need to
have measures that would criminalize any breaches of the treaty.

States would now also be required to take appropriate measures to prevent diversion of weapons
for unauthorized end use so they don’t end up in the hands of those that are not suppose to have
them.

A major remaining concern is that, principally on the insistence of China, the treaty would only
apply to the international trade of conventional arms and not necessarily to all international
transfers including gifts and aid.

India is also insisting on a clause whereby states may be able to evade the treaty by designating
arms transfers as taking place as part of ‘defence cooperation agreements’.

It is expected that sceptical governments like Syria, Iran, North Korea and Cuba, or even Russia
and China, might try to attack the strong draft rules if the majority of States in the negotiations
that support a strong treaty don’t stand firm on the final day.

The negotiations are the culmination of six years of UN consultations and over a decade of
campaigning by Nobel Peace Laureates, including Amnesty International, and increasing numbers
of non-governmental organizations.