In Pursuit of Arms Trade Treaty, Slogans Substitute for Sanity

Ted Bromund / May 28, 2010

Amnesty International has a new slogan designed to drum up support for the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty: it’s calling on its supporters to demand a “bullet-proof” treaty.

That’s cute. Unfortunately, what’s cute is not necessarily good policy, as Amnesty’s slogan illustrates all too clearly. It explicitly demands a treaty that “control[s] all arms and ammunition and their parts.” Leaving aside any Second Amendment considerations, this is insane. Controlling the “parts” of “all arms,” ranging from bullets to battleships, would mean controlling every substantial part and industrial process in the world. A treaty of this scope could never be enforced and would be utterly meaningless in practice.

The evidence for this is all around us. In 1997, the Mine Ban Treaty, commonly known as the Ottawa Treaty, was opened for signature. The U.S. has not ratified it, but many other countries have. Compared to the proposed Arms Trade Treaty, the Ottawa Treaty covers a limited, even a tiny, selection of munitions. If it cannot be enforced, there is no chance at all that the Arms Trade Treaty will work. (more…)