For immediate release

Control Arms campaign: Oxfam International, Amnesty International and the
International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA).

Work on an international Arms Trade Treaty will begin immediately following
a historic vote in the UN General Assembly today, which saw 153 governments
supporting the proposed Treaty to prevent international arms transfers that
fuel conflict, poverty and serious human rights violations. Only the United
States voted against the proposal, and 24 governments abstained.

The UN General Assembly vote comes just three years after the launch of the
Control Arms campaign, which has seen over a million people in 170
countries calling for a Treaty.

Three quarters of governments [153] voted in favour of the proposal, which
was also supported by an overwhelming majority of governments in the UN
General Assembly’s First Committee in October.

There was also strong support from the governments of Europe as well as the
Pacific and Latin America.

"Significant support for an Arms Trade Treaty has come from some of the
world’s most gun-affected regions; this indicates not only widespread
recognition of the problem but also widespread political will to take
action," said Rebecca Peters, Director of IANSA.

The US remained the only government to vote against the proposal, despite a
recent appeal from 14 US Senators to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
for the Administration to reconsider its position.

"My current visit to Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Territories has
allowed me to see first hand the devastating consequences on civilians of
the unregulated trade in weapons. It is vital that governments recognise
the urgent need to turn this vote into meaningful action and ensure that a
legally binding treaty on conventional arms becomes a reality," said Irene
Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

One of the first tasks for the incoming UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon,
will be to begin canvassing the views of all UN Member States on the
proposed Arms Trade Treaty in order to report back to the General Assembly
in late 2007. A group of governmental experts from around the world will
then be established to examine the issue in detail and report back to the
UN General Assembly in 2008.

"Today, we have seen an overwhelming majority of the world’s governments
accepting the need for an Arms Trade Treaty to prevent weapons sales that
fuel conflict and poverty. That is a historic step. When the Control Arms
campaign began in 2003 only 5 governments supported the concept of an Arms
Trade Treaty. Today there are 153. Now governments must follow through and
achieve a strong, effective Treaty. Every day that they delay is another
day when thousands of lives are wrecked by armed violence," said
Jeremy Hobbs, Director of Oxfam International.

Notes to Editors

About the campaign
The idea for the establishment of globally binding rules on arms transfers
began in 1995 with a few Nobel Peace Laureates including Amnesty
International and Dr Oscar Arias. The Control Arms campaign was launched by
Oxfam International, Amnesty International and IANSA in 2003 and so far
enjoys the support of over a million campaigners worldwide.