UN Arms Trade Treaty Negotiations |

At the moment, the United Nations is packed with people representing countries and NGOs from all over the world who are debating and voting on a Global Arms Trade Treaty. The final vote on this critical international standard for buying and selling weapons - the likes of which have never existed before - will take place July 2 - 27, 2012.

Although our focus through Beyond Bullets is on gun violence as a local issue, the fact is weapons are used all over the world to oppress and terrorize populations. Just like we have no federal gun trafficking mandates here in the United States, there are no international regulations on the buying and selling of weapons around the world. Therefore, guns and ammunition make their way into places with very little oversight, where they are used to commit human rights abuses, create conflict and make peacekeeping more difficult.

This week, we will be meeting with some of the representatives who are testifying at the UN during the Conference on the Global Arms Trade Treaty, along with Oxfam International, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence and S.O.S. Crown Heights. We're looking forward to taking part in this important discussion, and we hope their testimony makes a difference in this year's Arms Trade Treaty vote.

To get involved, sign up to support a bulletproof arms trade treaty here !