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  • arms trade

    ATT Could Stymie Arms Export Control Reform

    Reform of the U.S. arms export control took a major step forward this week when the Departments of State and Commerce released final rules governing aircraft and gas turbine engines. However, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which the Obama Administration voted to adopt at the United Nations earlier this month, … More

    The Arms Trade Treaty: The Big Lie About July 2012

    One of the unreported stories about the negotiation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) at the United Nations is the effort by many U.N. members, supplemented by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), to blame the failure of the first negotiating conference last July on the United States. This story demonstrates the widespread … More

    The End of the Arms Trade Treaty Conference Is Not the End of the Treaty

    Late on Thursday, the U.N. conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) fell apart when Iran, North Korea, and Syria opposed the treaty. This was a surprise to virtually all the conference observers. By mid-day Friday, almost everyone thought the treaty would get done that day, if only because the … More

    Morning Bell: 3 Reasons the U.N.’s Arms Treaty Is Useless

    It sounds nice to say there could be a treaty that would make all nations responsible when it comes to their arms exports. Of course, it’s also impossible. The latest draft of the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which would regulate imports and exports of arms around the world, failed … More

    The Arms Trade Treaty: Reactions to the Final Draft

    At noon on Wednesday, Peter Woolcott, the president of the U.N. Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), released the last draft of the treaty. The only further changes will be technical corrections: As Woolcott put it, this is a take-it-or-leave-it document. This latest draft contains a substantial number of … More

    The Arms Trade Treaty, Week Two: As the U.N. Talks, the Senate Acts

    At the United Nations, review continues of the latest draft of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) that was unveiled on Friday. The temperature of the conference is notably lower now, and there is a renewed sense that Thursday is likely to bring agreement on a treaty. True, the Arabs and … More

    The Arms Trade Treaty, Week 2: The Treaty Is Getting Worse

    Late on Friday, the president of the U.N. Conference negotiating the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) released his latest draft of the treaty. A final draft will supposedly come out Wednesday evening, but the changes between now and then should not be substantial, as delegations will then not have time to … More

    The Arms Trade Treaty, Days Four and Five: As the Temperature Rises, the Doors Close

    The row between China and the European Union at the U.N. conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) got Thursday off to a heated start. By the time Friday came to a close, it seemed possible that the conference might collapse into the same acrimonious confusion that ended last July’s … More

    The Arms Trade Treaty, Day Four: As a New Draft Arrives, China Speaks and the EU Begs

    The fireworks at the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) conference in New York started late on Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon, the atmosphere, which had in previous days been calm, felt like last July, when the last negotiating conference collapsed into failure. The fun began with an intervention on Wednesday by … More

    The Arms Trade Treaty, Day Three: Turning Up the Pressure on the U.S.

    As the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) conference moved through its third day, the isolation of the United States became ever clearer. The U.S. position is that the current text of the treaty, negotiated last July, needs to be better drafted but should not be substantially changed. Yesterday, it became … More