“UNSCRUPULOUS TRADE”
The U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs says the treaty does not “interfere with the domestic arms trade and the way a country regulates civilian possession.”
The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the treaty on April 2. Russia, China, India and 20 other countries abstained in the April 2 vote. The treaty will enter into force 90 days after 50 nations have ratified it. So far five countries have ratified the treaty.
Rights group Amnesty International USA said it hoped the decision by the United States to sign the treaty would send a signal to Moscow, Beijing and the NRA on the commitment of President Barack Obama’s administration to the issue.
“The Obama administration is politically committed to ending the unscrupulous trade in deadly weapons used by dictators, war lords and criminal gangs to commit atrocities,” said Amnesty International USA deputy executive director Frank Jannuzi.