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30th Forum on Global Issues at the Federal Foreign Office: “The Arms Trade Treaty – Greater Security through Common Standards?”

05.06.2012 - Press release

The 30th Forum on Global Issues at the Federal Foreign Office will take place tomorrow (6 June). The subject of the Forum will be the projected Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), on which negotiations will begin in New York on 2 July at an intergovernmental conference held under United Nations auspices.

With less than four weeks to go before the ATT conference starts, the Forum will examine the preparatory work to date and give interested members of the public the chance to discuss relevant issues with government officials as well as representatives of the Bundestag, NGOs and the academic community.

Background information

A United Nations conference will take place in July on the international trade in conventional weapons. Its ultimate goal is to negotiate an Arms Trade Treaty that will bring the trade under control. The intention is also to prevent weapons being illicitly trafficked and ending up being used in conflicts and to commit grave human rights violations.

For years the German Government has been campaigning at the United Nations for an international agreement to regulate the legal trade in conventional weapons. It is seeking an agreement that will set exacting and legally binding standards at global level for the trade in conventional weapons. In the German Government’s view, the document should cover not only major weapons systems but also small arms and light weapons as well as munitions.

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