Illegal Arms Trade

The civilized world is attempting to address the huge problem of the illegal weapons market (with strong support from Sec. of State Hillary Clinton).    The Guardian reported a couple weeks ago:

One of the great tragedies of our times is the uncontrolled spread of weapons, often from illegal markets, sometimes in violation of international embargoes. Up to a thousand people a day – mostly women and children – are killed by such arms, most of them in the world's poorest countries. ...

One crucial step will be to negotiate a worldwide arms trade treaty. Britain and France have been working closely since 2006 to promote the idea of such a treaty in the United Nations, which would join up the current patchwork of national and regional systems for regulating arms exports. It is the gaps in these systems and their lack of consistency and coherence that have allowed illegal arms markets to spring up.

We are making good progress. In July, countries formally agreed for the first time that the unregulated international trade in conventional arms was creating a global problem. And on 30 October, an overwhelming majority of countries voted to adopt a clear timetable for work on a treaty. We welcome in particular Hillary Clinton's announcement on 14 October that the US would back a treaty, the first time the US has said this.