Arms Trade Treaty Diplomatic Conference starts Monday 2 July 2012 in New York

(c) Jesper Waldersten

The events in the Middle East and North Africa over the past year have demonstrated in tragic detail the importance of an arms trade treaty that effectively regulates arms transfers between States.

Conventional weapons and ammunition as well as chemical weapons supplied by arms manufacturing States have seemingly been used to violate the right to life and the right to protest of unarmed demonstrators exercising their rights to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, right to information, and to liberty and security.

More to come on the legal and practical implications of an arms trade treaty from the ATT bloggers ..