The treaty was signed by the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the UN, Ambassador Jamal Faris Al Ruwaei.
The signing of the treaty was in line with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to the UN goals and principles related to disarmament through joining the relevant international conventions and treaties, in order to achieve global peace and security.
The treaty is the first international mechanism regarding regulating the international trade in conventional arms, without affecting the sovereign right of states to regulate weapons within their territory, as well as their right to obtain the necessary types of conventional weapons for the purpose of self-defence and the protection of their national and regional security according to the principles of the relevant Charter of the United Nations resolutions and agreements.
It includes small arms and light weapons as well as ammunition, spare parts and components.
The treaty emphasises on the need to prevent illicit trafficking in conventional arms and eliminating them as well as preventing them from being smuggled to illicit markets, in order not to be used illegally by unauthorised persons, so as not to become a means to commit terrorist acts.
The convention recognises the legitimate political, security, economic and trade interests of countries in the international trade in conventional weapons and emphasises the sovereign right of each state to regulate and control conventional weapons within its territory in accordance with their legal or constitutional systems.
The UN General Assembly adopted the Arms Trade Treaty on April 2, 2013, which will be effective once it is ratified by at least 50 countries.