UNITED NATIONS: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday signed the UN Arms Trade Treaty on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly in New York, creating a framework for regulating the $70bn international conventional arms business.
By signing the treaty, which requires ratification by the Senate and has been attacked by American pro-gun groups such as the National Rifle Association, the United States joined 89 other countries in support of an international solution to the proliferation of guns and other deadly weapons.
The treaty would require nations to ensure tanks, warships, small arms (pistols and rifles, for example) and other weapons would not be sold to parties that were intent on committing genocide, terrorism or otherwise infringing on human rights.
