WEB DESK
US President Donald Trump says he will pull his country out of an international arms treaty.
It was signed in 2013 by the then-President Barack Obama, but opposed by the National Rifle Association, NRA, and other conservative groups.
Mr Trump told members of the NRA at an annual meeting yesterday that he intends to revoke the status of the United States as a signatory to the Treaty, which was never ratified by the U.S. Senate. On Twitter, he called the decision a defence of American sovereignty.
The NRA has long opposed the treaty, which regulates the 70- billion Dollar business in conventional arms and seeks to keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers. The agreement covers weapons exports, ranging from small firearms to tanks, but not domestic sales.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric called the treaty a landmark achievement in the efforts to ensure responsibility in international arms transfers.
The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the pact in April 2013. The United States, which is the world’s No. 1 arms exporter, voted in favour of it despite fierce opposition from the NRA.