Arms Trade Treaty Faces Transparency Hurdle at Pivotal Mexico Meeting Dave Graham - Reuters
go to original August 24, 2015

At the first conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, in Cancun, Mexico (24-27 August), the International Committee of Red Cross says the transfer of illegal weapons is rife. (ICRC)

Efforts to impose transparency on the global arms trade at a pivotal meeting in Mexico this week face resistance from some major European exporters that could undermine a historic accord, said arms control groups.

Officials from over 100 governments are expected to attend the first conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a pact to regulate the trade that took force in December but has yet to agree fine print on how it will be implemented.

Due to run from Aug, 24-27 in the Mexican resort of Cancun, signatories are hoping to set out rules of procedure for the ATT and discuss the financing of a secretariat that will oversee efforts to police the multi-billion dollar business.

One contentious point at the heart of talks will be how much transparency countries permit over publishing arms sales, said Anna Macdonald, director of Control Arms, a lobby group.

"One of the problems with discussions on transparency is that even they are not transparent," she told a news conference in Mexico City, noting the secretive nature of talks on sales made it hard to pinpoint which nations were most reluctant.

Read the rest at Trove

Related: Mexico Expects Agreement on Arms Trade Treaty Fine Print at Meeting (Reuters)

Related: UN Weapons Conference in Mexico "Litmus Test" of Arms Trade Treaty (Xinhua)

Related: Weapons: ICRC Sounds Alarm on Arms Trade (ICRC)

Related: It’s a U.N. ‘Gun Grab’ — Reach for Your Wallets! (The Trace)

Photo: cinabrio

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