State Dept. Says Arms Trade Treaty Just Not Ready for Prime Time
The U.S. expects the second session of negotiations on a U.N. International Arms Trade Treaty "will start early in the New Year," said State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland in a press briefing July 30. She said there was a "gentlepeople’s agreement" that the talks would continue then, though exact details weren't finalized.
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As for why the U.S. didn't currently support the treaty, Nuland said: "What we supported was a decision to give this more time to get it right. As you know, this is a treaty that needs to be adopted by consensus. There was not consensus in New York. There were a number of countries who thought that more work needed to be done. That said, we did make considerable progress, and there was a commitment that the nations will come back early in the New Year and try to conclude this treaty."
The goal, Nuland said, is a final treaty that "deals with the illegal use of small arms while allowing states and nations participating to implement their own national laws and to protect the rights of their citizens enshrined in their own national documents, including in our case the right to bear arms under the U.S. Constitution. ... We think that rather than trying to jam a weak treaty, it’s better to give it some more time and have consensus when we come back in January."
Nuland said that, without a consensus on the text of the treaty, it doesn't make sense to move it on to the U.N. General Assembly for a vote. Asked if U.S. domestic politics affected the U.S. decision, Nuland said: "Well, that’s not a political issue; that’s a constitutional and legal issue in the United States. ... But more broadly, we want a treaty that can stand up around the world and can deal with this problem."