THE  National Assembly last evening unanimously approved a motion which will enable Guyana’s ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty, making it the first country in the world to ratify the treaty. This is the first legally binding multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to regulate the international trade in conventional arms.  It became open for signatures on June 3, 2013 and Guyana was one of its first signatories.
The treaty now boasts 74 signatories, including 10 other CARICOM member states, in addition to Guyana.
The motion was moved by Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett who said that the Arms Trade Treaty fills a critical gap in international law in the domain of transfers of conventional arms.

“Up until a few minutes ago, 74 countries had signed the treaty and zero had ratified. If we do this tomorrow (today) we could very well be the first country in the world…,” Minister Rodrigues-Birkett stated.

Once effectively implemented, she stated, it will make a real and positive difference for millions of people around the world, and especially those who live in conflict areas.
She related that while “conventional arms” refer to battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large-calibre artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missile and missile launchers, the treaty also covers small arms and light weapons. She pointed out that most present day conflicts are fought mainly with small arms.
“Small arms are cheap, light, easy to handle and transport and conceal. A build up of small arms alone may not create the conflicts in which they are used, but their excessive accumulation and availability aggravates the tension, according to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs,” the minister stated.
While she attempted to convince members of the House to adopt the motion, Rodrigues-Birkett declared that it is “unfortunate and paradoxical” that the Opposition did not support a piece of legislation which was brought before the Assembly to ensure that this issue is also addressed domestically.
She was referring to the Firearms Amendment Bill which was presented in the National Assembly by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and was rejected by the combined Opposition of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC).
“If it’s possible, and I believe anything is possible in politics, we should try to correct the situation, because I think it would be a major contradiction to what we are saying as a country and what we are actually doing,” she asserted.
Meanwhile, APNU’s Africo Selmon, expressed the party’s support for the motion and said the fact that Guyana is among the first set of nations to sign the treaty is a clear indication of the country’s  willingness and determination to address the poorly regulated international arms trade.
She maintained that while this is a step in the right direction, mere words on a piece of paper are meaningless unless they are implemented.
According to Selmon, for the treaty to be effective it will require the establishment of national regulations to control the transfer of conventional arms and components to regulate the trade.
“The impact of the treaty will be determined by how stringently it is implemented once it comes into force. We must continue to show our commitment to arms control by ensuring that we implement the necessary enabling regulations,” she remarked.
The AFC’s support for the motion was conveyed by Moses Nagamootoo, who asserted that the mere signing of the treaty brings together a body of will by a number of countries to make the world a safer place.
He also echoed the sentiments of Selmon that much effort must be diverted towards implementing the treaty locally.
However, in her response, Minister Rodrigues-Birkett reminded the House that the legislation that would prevent the import, export, diversion and transfer of illegal weapons is still not on Guyana’s law books as an offence.
“If you want an example of bad political management, I think that’s one because the bill was before us in this National Assembly,” she stated.

Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman was also pleased with what took place in the National Assembly yesterday.  “We have, in this short space of time, done something very eventful and that is to lend our unanimous support to a treaty that was signed by our representative…I am therefore pleased to put the motion that it be approved by this House and that Guyana becomes the first country to ratify this treaty by its Parliamentary action,” Trotman said.