Arms
Trade Treaty
Dies, "Branch
Sawed Off in
DC in Election
Year"
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
27 -- The Arms
Trade Treaty
died Friday at
the UN; a
group of 90
some nations
expressed
disappointment
at
non-agreement
on what they
called a text
with the
"overwhelming
support of the
international
community."
The
West African
states in
ECOWAS didn't
join in this
statement due
to
its use of the
word
"overwhelming."
They did not
support
even the
rejected text,
because it
gave in too
much to the
United
States in not
fully covering
ammunition.
The
US had asked
for more time,
but to be
fair, so did
other
countries.
Still, a
well-placed
negotiator
told Inner
City Press
that "the
US team here
in New York
were working
toward signing
on, but they
were on a
branch that
got sawed off
in
Washington."
The
largest
question
asked: who
decided to
have this
negotiation
take
place during a
US election
year?
As
the final
speeches were
being given,
the Press was
barred from
the
room.
What began
with a lot of
energy --
well, with a
fight about
seating
Palestine --
ended behind
closed doors,
only to be
referred
to the UN
General
Assembly's
First
Committee in
October. There
is
could die
again, or go
outside the UN
"like Ottawa,"
one
source said,
predicting the
US would not
sign on there
either.
"They
won't
sign on
anywhere," he
said. And so
it goes at the
UN.
Update:
and after the
failure of the
ATT, and hasty
interviews in
the hall, back
in the
Conference
Room they
turned off the
lights at six
pm, with the
room still
half full.
"They could
take it to
Ottawa," a
delegate who'd
opposed the
ATT told Inner
City Press.
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