The United Nations General Assembly. Photo/FILE
By KEVIN J KELLEY
Posted Wednesday, December 26 2012 at 16:20
Posted Wednesday, December 26 2012 at 16:20
Kenya's diplomatic leadership in support of a global arms-trade agreement was affirmed on Monday as the United Nations General Assembly voted 133-0 to resume talks on the proposed treaty.
"This was a clear sign that the vast majority of UN member states support a strong, balanced and effective treaty," declared a statement by Foreign Minister Sam Ongeri and his counterparts in six other countries that sponsored the resolution to restart the talks in March.
The ministers noted that a UN-sponsored conference last July "came very close to adopting a treaty."
The six-year-long effort to set standards for the international transfer of conventional arms was stymied mainly by the United States and Russia, with developing countries such as Iran and North Korea also opposing a deal.
Failure to reach agreement after a month of bargaining at UN headquarters in New York was "very disappointing," Kenya Deputy UN Ambassador Dr Josephine Ojiambo said in July.
But she expressed hope that talks would be renewed on the treaty.
A prohibition on unauthorised cross-border transfer of small arms would enable Kenya "to promote social development in areas where the threat of violence hangs, such as the northern border areas,” Dr Ojiambo added then.
The outcome of the negotiations due to get underway on March 18 could prove positive due to a shift of sentiment on gun control in the United States.
Worried about the political power of the "gun rights" lobby in the run-up to the November US elections, the Obama administration backed away from support for the treaty in the closing hours of talks last summer.
Groups opposed to virtually any limitations on gun sales have been weakened, however, in the aftermath of the latest US mass slaying by a gunman earlier this month.
The United States was among the 133 countries voting on Monday to return to the arms-treaty bargaining table.
Despite its sponsorship of the resolution, Kenya was absent from the Christmas Eve vote in the 193-member General Assembly.
Argentina, Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan and the United Kingdom are the other leading proponents of the treaty.
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