Arms Trade Treaty Reaches 50 Ratifications during 2014 Treaty Event,

Triggering Entry into Force

 

The landmark of 50 ratifications of the Arms Trade Treaty was reached this morning at a joint ceremony held in the framework of the 2014 Treaty Event.  Today, eight States deposited their instruments of ratification with the Secretary-General, and two States signed the Treaty.  Pursuant to its article 22, the Arms Trade Treaty will enter into force 90 days after the date of the deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification, on 24 December.

The Arms Trade Treaty sets the highest possible international standards for regulating the cross-border arms trade, and aims to prevent and eradicate the diversion of weaponry.

Today, the Secretary-General remarked:  “The need for the [Arms Trade Treaty] remains abundantly clear.  Deadly weaponry continues to find its way into irresponsible hands.  Unscrupulous arms brokers defy United Nations arms embargoes.  Ruthless leaders turn their arsenals on their own citizens.  Ammunition depots are poorly guarded.  State-owned weapons go missing.  Civilian airplanes end up in the crosshairs.  End-use certificates are not standardized and can be easily forged.  Pirates wield grenade launchers and machine guns against merchant ships.  Drug traffickers outgun police forces.  Just as with other commodities, the trade in arms should comply with vigorous, internationally agreed standards.  All actors involved in the arms trade must be held accountable.  In adopting the Arms Trade Treaty, Member States came together to support a robust, legally binding commitment to provide a measure of hope to millions of people around the world.  Today, we can look ahead with satisfaction to the date of this historic new Treaty’s entry into force.  Now, we must work for its efficient implementation and seek its universalization, so that the regulation of armaments — as expressed in the Charter of the United Nations — can become a reality once and for all.”

The States that deposited their instrument of ratification today are:   Argentina, Bahamas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Senegal and Uruguay.   Georgia and Namibia signed the Treaty.

The Treaty event is organized by the Secretary-General every year on the occasion of the opening of the general debate of the General Assembly to promote wider participation in the multilateral treaty framework.

For more informationon the 2014 Treaty Event, please visit http://treaties.un.org.  For media inquiries, please contact Aaron Buckley at e-mail:  buckleya@un.org, tel.:  +1 212 963 4632; or Francesca Lorusso-Caputi at e-mail:  lorusso-caputi@un.org, tel.:  +1 212 963 3979.

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For information media • not an official record