What does Latin America think of the UN Arms Trade Treaty?

On June 3, delegates from over 60 UN member nations lined up in New York to sign the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the first major effort to create global standards to regulate the $85 billion international arms trade. The historic treaty, approved by the General Assembly in April, would prohibit the sale of arms to purchasers with poor human rights records, terrorist organizations, and those who would commit war crimes or acts of genocide with the weapons.

The final tally for approval was 154 countries in favor, 3 against, and 23 abstaining. The U.S. joined the majority to vote for the treaty, while North Korea, Syria, and Iran voted against. Notable abstentions included Russia, China, and India, as well as ALBA members Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Ecuador, who argued that the language in the treaty favors exporters and is “unbalanced.” Many abstainers worried that terms like “genocide” were poorly defined and could be manipulated to create political pressure in practice. Cuba has also criticized the treaty for its “legal loopholes,” “serious limitations,” and “ambiguities.”

Latin America has played a strong role in bringing the deal to fruition. In fact, it was former Costa Rica president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias who led the push to create the framework for such a treaty back in 1997. In a recent interview with BBC Mundo, Arias claimed that Latin America, which is “embarrassed” by a “large amount of homicides,” would benefit greatly from the newly approved treaty. He added that “as difficult as it would be to put it into practice, it’s better to have this instrument than not have it.”

In fact, according to Melanie Regimbal, director of the United Nations Office for Disarmament's Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLiREC), the region “has more arms in circulation than the majority of regions and has the highest levels of deaths by firearms.” According to a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Latin American imports account for 11% of the international arms trade.

In 2006, Costa Rica and Argentina joined six other countries in sponsoring a General Assembly resolution proposing a treaty based on Arias’ framework. Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla has urged her parliament to ratify the treaty, while Argentina has the distinction of being the first country to sign the treaty when it was opened to signatories.

Mexico and Brazil, the two largest arms exporters in the region, also strongly support the treaty. Mexican Subsecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo said that the treaty “redeems” the value of the UN.

Along with Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil, other Latin American countries that have signed on include El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Chile, Belize, and Panama. Colombia has not signed, despite having voted in favor and despite President Santos’ recognition of the need for greater international arms regulations.

A total of 72 countries have signed thus far. The treaty will go into effect 90 days after the 50th nation ratifies it, which could be “slightly over a year” from now, according to Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioga. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the U.S. will sign the treaty once all official UN translations of the document are completed, although over 50 senators signaled their opposition in the past and the NRA has vowed to kill it when it reaches the Senate.

La Razón has an illuminating infographic of the global arms trade: