Senate concurs with ratification of Arms Trade Treaty

The Senate on Wednesday approved a resolution concurring with the ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

Sixteen senators backed the resolution, with six abstentions.

Under the 1987 Constitution, treaties will be deemed valid and effective after the concurrence of at least two-thirds of all members of the Senate.

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on April 2, 2013, the ATT aims to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms as well as establish common international standards for regulating or improving the regulation of the international trade in conventional arms. 

“The ATT affirms the sovereign right of any State to regulate and control conventional arms exclusively within its territory, pursuant to its own legal or constitutional system,” Senate Resolution 960 read.

The treaty likewise acknowledged that peace and security, development, and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing, and are the pillars of the UN system and foundations for collective security.

President Rodrigo Duterte ratified the ATT on December 29, 2016. It was then submitted to the Senate for concurrence.

Article 24 (2) of the ATT provides that the agreement will take effect 90 days following the “date of deposit of its instrument of ratification.”

The same provision of the ATT provides that: “Each State Party shall, in exercising its national sovereignty, have the right to withdraw from this Treaty. It shall give notification of such withdrawal to the Depositary, which shall notify all other State Parties.”

According to the treaty, the notification of withdrawal may include an explanation of the reasons for the withdrawal.

The notice of withdrawal will take effect 90 days after its receipt by the Depositary, unless the notification of withdrawal specifies a later date. — VBL, GMA News