Oxfam and Saferworld say Britain should stand up to US if necessary to get UN agreement.
Nick Hopkins
The UK must "show some backbone" and push for a strong global arms trade treaty even if that means standing up to Washington and America's powerful gun lobby, which is determined to scupper an agreement, campaigners have urged.
With less than a week before the United Nations resumes talks over what could be the first treaty of its kind, a report warns that a golden opportunity to properly regulate the international arms trade will be lost unless changes are made to the draft text.
More than 120 countries have demanded a robust arms trade treaty (ATT), but the US remains sceptical - it scuppered the chances of passing a treaty during a month-long negotiation at the UN last year, even though the vast majority of nations were in favour.
In a 30-page study published on Tuesday, two charities, Oxfam and Saferworld, said the treaty had been so weakened to appease the US, and other big arms manufacturers such as China and Russia, that it was in danger of becoming meaningless . They have urged the UK to use its influence to persuade the Obama administration to change tack and back tougher rules over arms and ammunition shipments.
"We want a treaty with teeth," said Anna MacDonald, Oxfam's head of arms control. "We want the UK to show some backbone. We want the UK to call America's bluff."
Though the UK government has long been a supporter of the ATT, campaigners fear British negotiators would prefer to have a weakened treaty approved by the US, rather than fight for much stricter controls of arms sales.
Next week's negotiations in New York could involve all 193 nations entitled to vote on the issue, with African nations leading demands for changes to strengthen the ATT.
They point out that the current treaty would not prevent Russia from selling arms to Syria, nor would it help prevent the illegal arms trade that has helped fuel numerous domestic conflicts in Africa and Latin America over recent years.
The Oxfam/Saferworld report says the draft ATT does not cover all conventional weapons or ammunition. Countries would only be obliged to stop selling arms to another country if there was an "overriding risk" that they might be used for human rights abuses - a threshold deemed too high by most countries and campaigners. The draft treaty does not cover "gifting'' of arms, and allows countries to continue selling weapons if they come under the terms of an existing contract.
Overall, the ATT "suffers from weak and equivocal language... that is replete with loopholes and omissions", the report warns.
Macdonald said: "More than one person dies each minute through armed violence. Too much blood has been shed because of the unregulated trade in arms and ammunition. History has shown that strong treaties create high international standards and bring about change. Diplomats need to fill in the missing pieces in the draft text, and make sure they agree a treaty that will save lives. We have been fighting for a global agreement on the arms trade for years now and the time has come to seal the deal. A treaty to bring the arms trade under control is long overdue, but it must be a treaty with teeth. It is time for states to stand up for a treaty that will make a difference."
The report estimates that 325,000 people have died in conflicts fuelled by illegal arms since last year's negotiations stalled.
Roy Isbister, Saferworld's head of arms transfer controls, added: "The loopholes in the current text could actually make things worse, by giving legal cover to bad practice. It's critical that states refuse to settle for a treaty that fails to protect lives and livelihoods and instead put all their efforts into delivering a treaty that gets it right."
Last month, William Hague, the foreign secretary, insisted the UK remained committed to the ATT. "There are still some who harbour doubts and have yet to commit fully to a treaty," he said.
"My message to them is this: history will judge you harshly if you miss this moment. The treaty on the table will not stigmatise the legitimate trade in arms. Instead it will protect it, establishing global commitments on national arms export controls and a baseline for robust controls that ensure countries can defend their citizens without undermining human development."
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