U.S. President Trump rejects UN arms trade treaty
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States would not abide by a UN treaty aimed at regulating the global arms trade, calling it misguided and an encroachment on US sovereignty.
Trump said the US Senate had never ratified the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty despite his predecessor Barack Obama having endorsed it, and said he would never ratify it. While 130 countries originally signed the treaty, only 101 have ratified and joined it.
Those include major powers like France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The treaty, which entered into effect in December 2014, seeks to regulate the flow of weapons into conflict zones. It requires member countries to keep records of international transfers of weapons and to prohibit cross-border shipments that could be used in human rights violations or attacks on civilians.
The world’s largest arms traders, the United States, China and Russia, have not joined.
In a statement the White House said that the treaty fails to truly address the problem of irresponsible arms transfers, while providing a platform for those who would seek to constrain U.S. ability to sell arms to our allies and partners.
