World leaders urged to make Arms Trade Treaty work after more than 100 sign on

          After the number of countries which signed the Arms Trade Treaty passed 100 marks, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Salil Shetty called on governments to act on their promises. At the United Nations in New York on September 23th, Shetty told how Amnesty International began in 1993. He said, “Continue to challenge as many governments as possible to deliver on their promises to implement the lifesaving Arms Trade Treaty rapidly and rigorously.”

           20 countries signed the treaty on September 23th, including the USA which is the world’s largest arms dealer. Shetty described the USA joining as “a milestone towards ending the flow of conventional arms that fuel atrocities and abuse.”

            Actually I was really surprise the fact that USA joined the Arms Trade Treaty less than a month ago. I thought USA is a symbol of nation which not only the most powerful country in the world but also prohibiting warfare and terrorisms around the world. Maybe, because all those Hollywood’s movies I watched. My question is why and how? I guess the most understandable answer should be ‘making profits out of selling weapons’. However, why USA suddenly signed up for this Arms Trade Treaty?

            More than 500,000 people die every on average and millions more are displaced and abused as the result of armed violence and conflict. After the signing the ATT, states will attempt not to transfer conventional weapons to countries when those weapons will be used crimes against humanity or war crimes.  I really hope that signing Arm Trade Treaty is a turning point of all warfare and massacre around the world.  

http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/world-leaders-urged-to-make-arms-trade-treaty-work-after-more-than-100-sign-on