Seven nations start push for UN arms trade treaty

GENEVA, July 24 (Reuters) Seven nations from around the world launched an effort Today to get negotiations started on a United Nations treaty setting international rules for the global trade in conventional weapons.

The seven -- Argentina, Australia, Britain, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan and Kenya -- made the move at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament (CD) by circulating a proposal to raise the issue at the United Nations in New York later this year.

''We propose that the United Nations begin work on this important issue as soon as possible by establishing a Group of Government Experts,'' ambassadors of the seven said in a letter to the CD.

A British statement said the proposed pact would be ''a legally binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms through an International Arms Trade Treaty.'' Britain's former foreign secretary Jack Straw set out his ideas on such an accord in March last year and British diplomats have been active in promoting it.

In their letter, the seven said that although there had been some steps to deal with specific aspects of the trade in, and use of, conventional weaponry in recent years, the treaty they sought would provide ''an agreed regulatory framework.'' The proposal, in the form of a draft resolution to set up the expert group, will be presented in October to the UN's First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security.

The group, if established, will examine the feasibility of a treaty and draft an outline text, diplomats said.

According to the British statement, the move reflected the commitment of the seven ''to reducing the unrestrained spread of conventional weapons, which in turn fuel conflict and hinder development across the globe.'' REUTERS MQA RK2235