Miroslav Lajčák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, signed the Arms Trade Treaty at the UN on June 10, 2013. In doing so, Slovakia becomes the 72nd signatory of this treaty – the first of this kind designed to regulate and monitor international trade and transfer of arms and military technologies. Minister Lajčák met with Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Patricia O´Brien and UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane, with whom he discussed current issues of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation of WMD. During the talks, the Minister confirmed the full engagement and the ongoing support of the Slovak Republic for the main objectives of this agenda. “I consider it necessary to stress the importance of the pressing need for the ratification of the treaty in such a way that it comes into practice as soon as possible,” said the head of Slovak diplomacy.
The Treaty represents an important historic milestone in the regulation and monitoring of the global trade in this sphere. The Slovak Republic actively cooperated on the wording of the Treaty, which aims to adopt general, strong, and legally binding norms able to effectively regulate the global arms trade. The quintessential aim is to prevent arms delivery to unauthorized persons in conflict areas or terrorist and criminal organizations.
