This week states will take a potentially historic vote at the UN. They will decide whether to launch formal negotiations on an international Arms TradeTreaty to regulate the global arms trade.
To those of us who have been closeted in the UN basement for the last month, following the debates and lobbying states, the beginning of the end is in sight. Many thousands of people around the world have been campaigning for an ATT for more than 6 years now, and we are getting close to seeing it become a reality.
3 more years until an actual Treaty is a long time. But for formal negotiations to start is a big step for the UN to take. States owe it to thousands of people whose lives are torn apart by armed violence every day, many of them in the world’s poorest regions, to act.
This week, the diplomats in the dark panelled conference rooms will have the choice of literally pressing the green button to start negotiations. They must not fail.
