Key U.N. committee authorizes study of possible treaty on conventional weapons

(AP) A key United Nations committee on Thursday approved a resolution that could lead to an international treaty on small-arms control, a move hailed by gun-control advocates but opposed by the U.S. and gun-rights groups.

The measure would begin studies of a possible treaty, and must be approved by the General Assembly, which is likely to take it up next month. Human-rights campaigners said such a treaty would go a long way toward keeping small arms out of conflict zones.

Supporters of the U.N. action say such weapons can flow into conflict areas because of inconsistencies in current laws.

The resolution said the lack of international standards in the arms trade "is a contributory factor to conflict, displacement of people, crime and terrorism." It asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to authorize the establishment of a group of experts to look into "establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms."

The resolution was adopted by the General Assembly committee dealing with disarmament issues with 139 "yes" votes, 24 abstentions and one "no" vote, lodged by the U.S.

"The only way for a global arms trade treaty to work is to have every country agree on a standard," said Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. "For us, that standard would be so far below what we are already required to do under U.S. law that we had to vote against it in order to maintain our higher standards."

The National Rifle Association in the past has strongly opposed U.N. efforts at crafting a treaty to curb private ownership of small arms. The group has said such a treaty might embolden regimes that violate human rights to disarm their citizens and make popular uprisings against oppression impossible.

But human-rights campaigners supporting the drive to regulate the arms trade welcomed the resolution's approval, though they said much work is left to be done before the final passage of any comprehensive compact.

"Today, the world's governments have voted to end the scandal of the unregulated arms trade," said Jeremy Hobbs, director of Oxfam International. "Since the Control Arms campaign began three years ago, an estimated 1 million people have been killed by conventional weapons."

The resolution asks Annan to seek the views of member states on a legally binding treaty and to establish a group of governmental experts from around the world starting in 2008 to examine the feasibility of a treaty.

Campaigners behind the resolution said they hope any final treaty would compel countries to officially authorize all weapons transfers, stiffen compliance with previous treaties related to conventional weapons while prohibiting weapons transfers with countries likely to use the arms to violate their citizens' rights.