UN chief urges countries to join Arms Trade Treaty

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon Wednesday called for more countries to join the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to facilitate its entry into force.

Ban made the appeal in a statement to mark the first anniversary of the adoption of the treaty, which he said "for the first time sets global standards for the transfer of weapons and efforts to prevent their diversion", Xinhua reported.

The treaty was adopted by a vote in the 193-member UN General Assembly April 2, 2013. North Korea, Iran and Syria voted against the measure, while Cuba, India, Russia and China were among the abstaining states.

China insisted that the treaty should be reached through consensus and accepted by all parties.

The ATT, which will enter into force once it gets 50 ratifications, regulates all conventional arms within the categories of battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers and small arms and light weapons.