Can arms trade be controlled by a Treaty?
Wendela de Vries After years of lobbying by NGO’s, the United Nations decided to start negotiations for a global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The objective of this treaty is to create a legal mechanism to prevent ‘unethical’ arms trade. Arms should not be exported when there is a serious risk that they might be used in human rights violations, in war crimes, organised crime or terrorism. They should also not be sold to unstable regions, poor countries or corrupt regimes. Reading this, one cannot conclude anything else than that that this treaty is meant to end all arms trade. However, as is well known, international treaties should not be taken too seriously, especially not when they aim at soft goals like respect for peace and human rights. In the first place, clever diplomatic phrasing will leave lots of useful loopholes for a treaty not to be effective. In the second place, if a state does not is not live up to the treaty, there will be no consequenses. Unless, of course, it is a paria
