Deeply concerned about the impact the proposed Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which aims to regulate the global arms trade, will have on its defence contracts and agreements, India has said that it does not endorse the treaty’s final draft. It has also said that it will undertake a thorough assessment of the draft resolution from the defence, security and foreign policy points of view before it takes a final position on ATT.
The draft resolution was negotiated during the final UN conference on the Arms Trade Treaty held in New York from March 18 to March 28. No consensus could be reached on the contentious draft text with Iran, North Korea and Syria opposing the consensus.
India’s ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament (CoD) Sujata Mehta in her remarks at the conference also said the final draft’s provisions on “terrorism and non-state actors are weak and diffused and find no mention in the specific provisions of the treaty”.
She also stressed the need for the ATT to “ensure a balance of obligations between exporting and importing states”.
Voicing India’s concerns, Ms Mehta said India “cannot accept that the treaty should be used as an instrument in the hands of exporting states to take unilateral force majeure measures against importing states without consequences”.
India, as one of the major arms importers in the world, also told the conference on ATT that as an importing state, it will “take measures to ensure that the treaty does not affect the stability and predictability of defence cooperation agreements and contracts entered into by India”.
India’s anger is also evident in that Ms Mehta also noted that “the final draft has the tell-tale marks of behind-the-scenes carve outs of exclusive interests of a select few countries such as egregiously excluding non-state actors or arms transfers as gifts or loans”.
Sources also emphasised that India desires “predictability and stability in our defence cooperation” and that the defence ministry would see the disruption of arms supplies to India as a big disincentive to those who want to have a defence ties with India.