Global Arms Trade Treaty

The treaty will set international standards for the trade in conventional arms and seek to prevent illegal arms-trading.Governments will be expected to review arms export contracts to ensure the weapons do not violate existing arms embargoes, will not be used for war crimes, human rights abuses or organised crime and will not be diverted for illegal use.

Battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large-calibre artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, small arms and light weapons will be covered.

The treaty prohibits states from exporting conventional weapons in violation of arms embargoes, or weapons that would be used for acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or terrorism.

It also requires states to prevent conventional weapons reaching the black market.

The UN General Assembly has adopted a historic treaty  on 2 April 2013 to control the trade in conventional arms, voting it through by a huge majority.

Member-states voted by 154 votes to three, with 23 abstentions, to control a trade worth $70bn (£46bn) annually.The treaty went to a vote after Syria, Iran and North Korea blocked its adoption by consensus.

Russia and China, some of the world's biggest exporters, were among those who abstained from the vote in New York. Source - BBC