IANSA’s hopes that the World Summit (14-16 September 2005) would see states committing themselves to a new agreement to control the arms trade have been dashed.

The heads of state who have gathered in New York are signing a document that has very limited promises on small arms. It says only that states support the implementation of the Programme of Action on small arms. This means very little, because they had already committed themselves to implementing the Programme of Action when they signed it in 2001.

In early August 2005, the draft of the summit outcome document showed promising signs, saying that states would “adopt and implement an international instrument to regulate the marking and tracing, illict brokering, trade and transfer of small arms and light weapons.” This would have been enormous progress towards the Arms Trade Treaty and the legally binding agreement to control arms brokers that IANSA members are campaigning for.

But in the frantic final days of negotiations that followed the US’s request for huge cuts to the draft agreement on a wide range of issues, this wording was dropped from the text.

Controlling the proliferation of small arms would not only save hundreds of thousands of lives every year and improve security, but would also promote development. Around the world, armed violence inhibits achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by preventing access to jobs, land, education, healthcare and aid.

Small arms control was not the only issue that was dropped from the summit agreement. Other vital issues that the agreement fails to tackle are nuclear proliferation and poverty reduction.

However, states did reach agreement on the contentious subject of their responsibility to protect civilians from genocide.

Click here to visit www.reformtheun.org which is run by IANSA member the World Federalist Movement, for documents relating to the World Summit.