Canada has modified its position on the planned United Nations arms trade treaty which is scheduled to be hammered out by the world body during a three-week July meeting in New York City.
The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) reported that the Canadian government has dropped its earlier proposal to exclude all sporting and hunting fi rearms from the proposed international gun treaty, in a new position paper submitted to the UN.
The new position calls instead for a clear statement about civilian arms rights in individual member states as part of the preamble to the treaty.
The new position is drawing mixed reaction, but so did Canada’s position taken last summer when Canada, which had been a longtime advocate of the Arms Trade Treaty, surprised many and attracted heaps of scorn from countries such as Nigeria, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, when it changed its stance on the treaty and advocated for the exclusion of “civilian” fi rearms.
In 2011 some non-governmental observers predicted Canada’s changed position could have helped derail the entire process.
That proposal to exclude “civilian” arms is absent from Canada’s new position paper, submitted to the UN in May, according to the CBC.
Now, Canada recommends changes to the treaty’s preamble to underline that the agreement “acknowledges and respects responsible and accountable trans-national use of firearms for recreational purposes, such as sport shooting, hunting and other forms of similar lawful activities, whose legitimacy is recognized by the States Parties.” Project Ploughshares, which was among the non-governmental organizations that registered its opposition to the exclusion of hunting and sports fi rearms from the ATT, said it welcomed the changes, calling it a compromise.
Tony Bernardo, executive director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, is also pleased with the changes.
“We would support this version of the Arms Trade Treaty document from Canada as it empowers independent nations to set their own discretionary policies regarding civilian-owned fi rearms within their borders.” Bernardo said his take on the preamble is that Canada does not want “civilian” fi rearms included within the scope of the treaty.
