Slovakia will ratify the Arms Trade Treaty, which the UN General Assembly adopted in April of last year. This is the first global treaty that will regulate the world wide trade with conventional weapons ranging from fighter aircraft, ships, tanks, and armoured vehicles, to artillery systems and rockets.
The Cabinet approved the proposal to ratify the treaty already in January and Parliament ratified it on Wednesday. The document still needs to be signed by the President. Based on the new treaty, exporters that are earning tens of billions of euro per year must now ensure that their products will not be used to commit genocide, war crimes, acts of terrorism, or organized crime. The treaty at the same time recognizes legitimate political, security, economic, and commercial interests of countries and the right to legally produce and acquire weapons and trade in defence equipment.
