On 18 August, Montenegro became the 44th country to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty after Ambassador Milorad Šćepanović deposited their instrument of ratification at UN headquarters.

“Montenegro is honoured and proud to have deposited the instrument of ratification for the Arms Trade Treaty today, becoming the 44th country to do so. Our ratification is yet another illustration of firm commitment my country has had towards the ATT and promoting responsible arms trade throughout the world. From the beginning, Montenegro has been active supporter and advocate for ATT. We were among the first to sign the Treaty. Now that we are approaching the entry into force of the ATT, we expect that this instrument will be decisive in putting an end to uncontrolled arms trade which fuels armed conflicts, thus making the real difference in lives, livelihoods and human rights of millions of people worldwide.

Montenegro will be devoted to the full and effective implementation of the ATT as well as to upholding the principles and standards enshrined by the Treaty on a global scale. Our efforts will continue in order to make sure that the Treaty truly becomes the universal one, with as broad and effective application as possible.”

-Ambassador Šćepanović

The UN’s second youngest Member State has been a strong supporter of the ATT and was among the first states to sign the agreement when it opened for signature on 3 June 2012.Throughout negotiations, Montenegro took a progressive stance on many of the criteria that made the treaty a strong instrument with the potential to save lives, including on provisions on protecting human rights, ensuring strong reporting, and including ammunition in the treaty text.

Control Arms welcomes Montenegro’s entrance into the Race to 50 and of the renewed momentum in treaty ratifications over past two weeks. Control Arms urges all countries to sign and ratify the ATT as soon as possible.

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