United Nations: As the UN General Assembly yesterday overwhelmingly approved the first UN treaty regulating the multi-billion dollar international arms trade, India abstained from the resolution, stressing its strong protest over the draft which it described as an instrument in the hands of weapons exporting countries.
The resolution adopting the treaty was approved by a vote of 154 to 3 with 23 abstentions in the 193-member world body. Iran, North Korea and Syria had blocked adoption of the draft by consensus at the end of a two-week final negotiating conference last Thursday. The three countries voted “no” on yesterday’s resolution while Russia and China, both major arms exporters, also abstained.
Ambassador Sujata Mehta, India’s Permanent Representative to the Conference of Disarmament in Geneva, reiterating India’s criticism of the text, said the draft treaty text sought to be adopted through this resolution “falls short of our expectations and a number of other key stakeholders in producing a text that is clear, balanced and implementable and able to attract universal adherence”.
IANS
