World News
Small-arms trafficking blocks poor nations' development, says nuncio
Published: July 5, 2006
UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- Illegal trafficking in small arms and light weapons stirs up the civil unrest in poor countries that blocks their social, political and economic development, a Vatican diplomat told the United Nations. A legally binding treaty needs to be negotiated to stem illegal trading in small arms, said Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Vatican nuncio to the United Nations. Negotiation of such a treaty "would have to involve developed and developing countries, exporting, importing and transit states, military industries, nongovernmental organizations and civil society," he said. "The illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is a threat to peace, development and security," he said. "Arms cannot be treated as if they were commercial goods like any other," he said. Archbishop Migliore addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York June 28. The Vatican has observer status at the United Nations, which means it can address U.N. bodies but cannot vote.
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