Norway welcomes the historic Global Arms Trade Treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly by a huge majority. The aim of the treaty is to control the trade in conventional arms.
- Norway is pleased that the arms trade treaty is finally adopted, says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
- This is a treaty which will contribute to the reduction of human suffering which is the result of irresponsible and illegal trade in arms. It represents an important milestone for the UN in the work to control arms, the Norwegian Foreign Minister says.
Member-states voted by 154 votes to three, with 23 abstentions, to control a trade worth $70bn (£46bn) annually.
The treaty went to a vote after Syria, Iran and North Korea had blocked its adoption by consensus.
Russia and China, some of the world's biggest exporters, were among those who abstained from the vote in New York.
The treaty prohibits states from exporting conventional weapons in violation of arms embargoes, or weapons that would be used for acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or terrorism.
It also requires states to prevent conventional weapons reaching the black market.
(NRK/Press release/BBC)
A new round of negotiations on trade in conventional arms (the Arms Trade Treaty) has started at UN headquarters in New York. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says Norway will be at the forefront of efforts to ensure a strong and robust agreement.
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Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre says he is diappointed over the fact that the UN talks aimed at a treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade ended without agreement.
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