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United Nations fails to agree landmark arms-trade treaty.......
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[link to www.brecorder.com] Delegations from around the world failed on Friday to agree a landmark UN arms-trade treaty to regulate the more than $60 billion industry, opting for further talks and a possible UN General Assembly vote by the end of the year, diplomats said.
More than 170 countries have spent the past month in New York negotiating a treaty, which needed to be adopted by consensus, so any one country effectively could have vetoed a deal. Instead, no decision was taken on a draft treaty. But this leaves the door open for further talks and a draft arms-trade treaty could be brought to the 193-nation UN General Assembly and adopted with a two-thirds majority vote. Diplomats said there could be a vote by the end of the year.
"We feel that we could have agreed (a treaty). It is disappointing that more time is needed. But an arms-trade treaty is coming - not today - but soon. We've taken a big step forward," said a spokesman for Britain's delegation. One person every minute dies from armed violence around the world, and arms control activists say a convention is needed to prevent illicitly traded guns from pouring into conflict zones and fuelling wars and atrocities. They cited conflicts in Syria and elsewhere as examples of why a treaty is necessary.
While most UN member states favoured a strong treaty, activists said there was a small minority of states, including Syria, North Korea, Iran, Egypt and Algeria, who loudly voiced opposition to global arms control throughout the negotiations. But ultimately, arms-control activists blamed the United States and Russia for the inability to reach a decision on Friday, as both countries said there was not enough time left for them to clarify and resolve issues they h
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