THE Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a multilateral pact to regulate the international trade in conventional arms, was adopted by the 71st plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on April 2, 2013 by a 154-to-3 vote with 23 abstentions and opened for signature on June 3, 2013. Fifty states were required to ratify the treaty before it could enter into force.

Up to this point in time, 113 states have signed and 52 states have ratified the pact. The idea of an arms treaty has a long gestation period dating back to the 1920s and 1930s involving the so-called “great powers”. But their efforts collapsed just before World War II. The idea was revived by Nobel Peace Laureates, especially Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica. The campaign galvanised civil society and non-government organisations such as Amnesty International and OXFAM.

The international trade in weapons is big business, worth an estimated US$100 billion a year. In addition, the related installation and transport is worth a further $20 billion. There are 40 countries with large-scale production capabilities and another 60 countries manufacturing arms on a smaller scale.

The world’s largest arms traders are the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. Ironically, they are the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the highest UN organ devoted to world peace. Other large producers of arms are Germany, Israel, Italy, Sweden, South Africa, Spain, Belgium and Ukraine. The largest importers of arms include India, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

National defence is a legitimate priority for every country and the peace and safety of some countries are more threatened than others. The nature of the threat varies from internal disturbances escalating to civil wars at times, military conflicts between countries, responding to terrorism, combating violent crime and repression of citizens. The threats may be combined or sequential. Whatever the cause, it is estimated by Amnesty International that roughly half-a-million people are killed every year with firearms.

If this ATT is effective it could reduce the availability of conventional arms, but this will not necessarily reduce gun violence and the slaughter of people. This goal must be achieved if orderly, peaceful and civilised society is to be maintained in the Caribbean where the gun figures in 90 per cent of cases of violent crime and murder.

With the unacceptably high murder rates in the region, our governments should consistently support the ATT. We note that Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago signed the treaty.

The ATT is only as effective as its implementation and enforcement. If the rate of violent crime is to be reduced in the Caribbean the producing countries must do more to ensure that illegal guns do not leave their jurisdictions, and that means the United States where most of the illegal weapons destined for the region originate. The producer countries must do more to reduce the flow of illegal guns.