On
ATT,
Japan Pressed
Out of
Statement of
71, Of Koreas
&
Occupying
Powers
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July 20 -- For
the Arms Trade
Treaty, the
deadline is
now
one week away.
The UN
official who
is staffing
the talks has
said to
have a treaty
by Friday,
July 27,
agreement
would have to
be reached
by Wednesday,
July 25.
In
this
context during
a July
20 open
meeting
covered by
Inner City
Press a
statement by
71 countries
was read out
by Malawi. It
focused
on "backbone
concepts" to
"prevent
authorization
of
transfer of
conventional
arms where
there is a
substantial
risk that
those weapons
would be,
inter alia:
-
used for, or
facilitate,
serious
violations of
international
law,
including
international
humanitarian
law and human
rights law,
-
having a
destabilizing
effect or
exacerbating
existing
conflicts,
-
diverted to
unauthorized
end users."
The
back
story to these
backbone
concepts is
that initial
co-authors of
the Treaty
such as
Australia --
which is
running for a
seat on the UN
Security
Council -- and
the UK are not
on the
statement.
Multiple
sources tell
Inner
City Press
that they
pressured
Japan to drop
OFF of the
statement, a
decision made
by Japan's
head of
delegation but
disagreed with
by
other Japanese
diplomats.
Meanwhile,
Japan and
South Korea
both opposed
the ATT
covering
"transfers,"
wanting it
limited to
"exports."
They cite the
difficulty
of assessing
trans-shipments
as their
reason. South
Korea and
Japan
on these have
the same
position as
Iran.
Iran
joined
in a proposal
by Cuba to
change the
criterion of
"violations
of
international
law, including
international
humanitarian
law and
human rights
law" to a
reference to
violations of
the UN
Charter, and
to prohibit
arms transfers
to "occupying
powers,"
with an eye on
Israel, cited
as a top
twenty arms
exporter and
importer.
South
Korea
also wanted to
modify the
reference to
international
law to
include
reference to
arms embargoes
under Chapter
7 of the UN
Charter
-- clearly, to
get at North
Korea / DPRK.
This
Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea, which
the chair
referred to as
Democratic
Republic
of Korea,
spoke out
against the
"excessive
production and
export" of
weapons.
The
US,
which is
opposing
including
ammunition,
reported
intoned that
"weapons can
be good."
France spoke,
against
without
reference to
or explanation
of its
airdropping of
weapons into
the
Nafusa
Mountains of
Libya.
The UK has
been asked
about its
non-presence
in the Group
of 71, and of
any role in
pressuring
Japan
to drop out of
what would
have been a
Group of 72.
If and when a
response is
provided it
will be
published.
Watch this
site.
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