UN: New Weapons Treaty Talks Planned

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to hold a conference to try again to reach agreement on a treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade.

The General Assembly approved the plan December 24 on a vote of 133-0, with 17 abstentions.

The conference is scheduled to be held March 18-28 at UN headquarters in New York.

The last effort to agree on a treaty collapsed in July, after countries including the United States, Russia, and China asked for more time to consider proposals.

Drafts have suggested the potential treaty would not seek to control a country’s domestic policies on weapons, but would require states to implement regulations on arms brokers and the transfer of weapons to other countries to limit the ability of human rights abusers or terrorists to acquire arms.

Based on reporting from Reuters and AP