Oxfam Reaction to Arms Trade Treaty talks delay

Anna Macdonald Head of Arms Control at Oxfam said:

“Key countries have dropped the ball today and let the rest of the world down. Today was the day for political courage – not delays and dithering. Some 50,000 people lost their lives through armed violence during the course of these month-long negotiations. The out-of-control arms trade must – and will – be stopped.

“The majority of governments in the world have agreed that we need tough rules based around international human rights and humanitarian law to bring the arms trade under control. They’ve made a statement today confirming their intent to see a treaty realized. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’. We will continue campaigning to secure a treaty that will save lives.”

Scott Stedjan, senior policy advisor at Oxfam America said:

"Today the United States did not grab the golden ring: an international arms treaty that would have bolstered our country's reputation as a leader on human rights.   The White House's failure of courage to press this treaty to conclusion today and is a loss for hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians that die each year from armed  violence fueled by the unregulated transfer of arms. Moving forward President Obama must show the political courage required to make a strong treaty that contains strong rules on human rights a reality.  It was this courage that was missing from this week."