Talks over the UN Arms Trade Treaty fell apart today, effectively killing the agreement. The Arms Trade Treaty Legal Blog reports that the process seemed to be moving to completion when the United States requested an extension to the time allotted to negotiate the agreement. This opened the door to other countries to begin registering more complex objections, and it soon became clear that reaching agreement within the allowed timeframe would be impossible. The proposed treaty, which raised considerable domestic opposition from gun rights advocates in the United States, died before it had a chance to become a threat. As a delegate from China observed, ”C’est la vie et la vie c’est ça.”
The UN may take up the matter at a later date, but for now it is on indefinite hiatus.
