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GUEST: Scott Stedjan, Legislative Secretary for the Friends Committee on National Legislation

More than 10 years ago, a group of Nobel Laureates, led by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, called for the development of an international code of conduct on arms transfers. According to the Congressional Research Service, the value of all arms transfer agreements worldwide in 2005 was approaching $45 billion, with the sales to the developing world accounting for two thirds of that total. Additionally the number of nations exporting weapons has also increased. On October 30 of this year, a committee of the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to start a process toward an Arms Trade Treaty. The vote passed by a margin of 139 to 1, with 24 abstentions. Not surprisingly, the single opposition vote was the United States. Still, the vote now paves the way for a feasibility report by the Secretary General and the establishment of a Group of Governmental Experts to consider the scope and content of the Treaty.

Read Scott Stedjan’s article in Foreign Policy in Focus: http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/3735.