UN Arms Traffic Pact in Final Round
By EDITH M. LEDERER
.c The Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The 189 members of the United Nations negotiated into the early hours Saturday in a make-or-break effort to reach consensus on a plan to halt illegal trafficking in small arms, which kills an estimated 500,000 people every year.
As closed-door talks continued past a midnight deadline, delegations were still wrangling over the hottest issues - a reference to civilian possession of small arms, limiting the trade only to governments, criteria for small arms exports and a follow-up to the conference.
The United States made clear from the outset it would oppose any U.N. plan that interferes with the right of citizens to own guns and would reject any measure that would bar governments from supplying small arms to ``non-state actors,'' such as rebel groups.
Diplomats said the U.S. delegation was not budging on either issue - even though virtually every other country wants arms transfers limited to governments or government-approved entities.
Nonetheless, U.N. Undersecretary-General Jayantha Dhanapala said he was hopeful that delegates would reach consensus on a framework to curb small arms trafficking.
``The issues are too important to let it fall now,'' he said shortly before midnight. ``We've made a lot of progress ... so it would be a shame if they don't get a final document.''
Earlier, Belgian Ambassador Jean Lint, whose country holds the EU presidency, predicted a positive outcome.
``The conference is now in its final phase, where naturally everybody is very excited and trying to fight until the last minute for their own position. But some of the difficult issues are beginning to find a solution,'' he said in an interview.
``I don't think I'm mistaken in saying this will not be a failure,'' Lint said.
But campaigners demanding tough controls on small arms exports fear the two-week U.N. conference will be a major failure.
Underlying the difficulty in reaching an agreement are serious differences on how to tackle the illegal but lucrative small arms trade - with Canada and the European Union demanding much tougher regulations than the United States, China and some other arms producers.
Whether the plan of action being debated can dent the problem remains a major question.
The United States made clear from the outset it would oppose any U.N. plan that interferes with the right of citizens to own guns and would reject any measure that would bar governments from supplying small arms to ``non-state actors,'' such as rebel groups.
Diplomats said the U.S. delegation was not budging on either issue - even though virtually every other country wants arms transfers limited to governments or government-approved entities.
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Now where would we be if Al Gores people were there doing the negotiating? GW delivered the goods here.