Global arms treaty a positive achievement, but caution is needed

The achievement of a global arms trade treaty is indeed a memorable and significant achievement in the history of the United Nations, and for the international system more generally. However, the extent to which it will work in practice is something that will only be seen with time, so it is important not to blow the fanfare too loudly just yet. It was always likely to be fairly predictable which countries would vote in favour, which would abstain and which would vote against, so no real surprises came in the form of vetoes from Iran, North Korea and Syria, nor in Russia's decision to abstain. Russia has vested interests in the global arms trade, but it is also keen not to be seen to challenge the West too much, with which it must also be seen to at least remain on good terms.

North Korea certainly comes as no surprise with it's continuing anti-Western, anti-American rhetoric, and certainly Syria is within it's rights to mention the 'small' issue of non-state terrorist groups, since states are clearly not the only actors involved in the arms trade, nor in many other very significant areas of international affairs. With 154 votes in favour of the agreement, this is certainly a majority, and a majority to be praised, but the 23 abstentions and vetoes that remain suggest that there is still a long way to go, as this is not a small number of states who are in favour of lesser regulation of arms.

Perhaps the real point to mention here, however, is that as historic and admirable as the United Nations achievement is, the reality of reaching a consensus amongst 192 member states is highly impractical and it is unlikely to ever reach an overriding consensus on such important yet controversial matters. Does this detract from the achievement? By no means. For today, and perhaps for the next few days, it is enough to celebrate the historic achievement that has been made. Following on from this, a cautious approach should be adopted that allows the situation to be monitored to see how it plays out. This agreement is a significant one, but it is not the end of the story. The global arms trade still has plenty more acts to follow.