We can discuss the intent of UN officials that craft gun control policy, including the ATT, and then there is the matter of what language actually ends up in the ATT. Based on the first link and section of quotes, the intent seems fairly clear; even if this is not written into early drafts of the ATT. The second link explains the mechanics of disarming citizens and explains how the UN would be more than happy to help in such efforts:
In the UN article below, it is clearly and explicitly stated that their intent is to disarm the world's civilian population; and that, by definition includes American gun owners - gun ownership in the USA is also explicitly mentioned.
The discussion in this article includes the UN ATT as a vehicle to achieve gun control, leading to the ultimate goal of complete civilian disarmament – note that disarmament is like pregnancy in that it is binary and that it is a process leading to a logical ultimate conclusion.
http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/chronicle/home/archive/issues2009/wemustdisarm/smallarmsnosinglesolution
"Disarming civilian populations is more difficult than disarming governments. Nevertheless it is arguably more necessary, given that civilians constitute the overwhelming majority not only of gun owners"
"Whether from state arsenals, defeated enemies, arrested criminals or civilian owners, small arms that are in surplus, obsolete, seized, surrendered or otherwise removed from circulation should be destroyed."
"One practical step toward disarmament is to slow the stream of new weapons coming into circulation. Thus far, no Government has been prepared to suggest reducing worldwide production, even by imposing maximum quotas. However, most countries now acknowledge the need for some limitations or constraint—or at least rules—on international sales of these arms."
"Reducing the international supply of new weapons: The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Some international transfers of weapons are obviously irresponsible: for example, if the weapons will arm an uprising against a legitimate government, or if they will be diverted into the hands of organized criminal gangs. The Arms Trade Treaty is an initiative to stop the most irresponsible transfers from going ahead, by asking officials from the exporting and transit countries to consider how the weapons are likely to be used and where they may end up. The proposed treaty would create a global standard for governments to apply when deciding whether to authorize an international transfer of small arms or other conventional weapons."
"Reducing the domestic supply of new weapons. While most countries permit civilian ownership of small arms, they are at the same time seeking to contain it to moderate levels. What is considered a moderate or acceptable level of gun ownership in society is coming increasingly under scrutiny as governments recognize the need to strengthen their gun laws. Driven by regional and international agreements, popular pressure and expert advice, gun laws around the world are growing tighter and more uniform. The emerging norms include integrated renewable licensing and registration of firearms and owners, based on proof of a legitimate reason for possession, limits on the types and number of weapons a civilian can possess, minimum age limits, checks of criminal record and other personal information, safe storage requirements etc. As the new laws reduce the proportion of the population legally entitled to buy or possess arms, as well as the number each licensee can own, the flow of new weapons into the country will slow."
"In relation to small arms, a crucial step toward disarmament is to recognize the link between the legal and illegal domains. The stock of illegal small arms is actually a stock of formerly legal arms. This is because almost all the small arms in the world were produced legally, manufactured in factories authorized (and often owned) by a national government.
It is only when the product leaves the factory and enters the chain of commerce that the possibility of becoming illegal arises. The same gun can be legal or illegal at different points in that chain of commerce, depending on who has it in their possession."
"In a non-conflict country like the USA, a private citizen with no criminal record might buy a gun from the ex-soldier (legal) or a gunshop (legal), and later sell it at a garage sale to a stranger (legal or illegal, depending on local state or city law). The stranger may transfer it to a criminal gang (illegal); or he may simply keep the gun at home (possibly legal), from where it may be stolen by a burglar (illegal), or taken to school by his adolescent son to impress his friends (illegal). The lethal potential of a firearm remains the same, regardless of its legal status."
"The implementation of these measures will advance disarmament "
"An estimated 75 per cent of small arms are in civilian hands. This encompasses all kinds and categories of arms and owners: security guards’ pistols, farmers’ shotguns, hunting rifles, collectors’ displays, retailers’ stocks, gangsters’ crime weapons, as well as the many millions of guns sitting in homes and cars around the world for no particular reason or in the general name of security."
"The best way to reduce diversion from the civilian stockpile to the illegal market is to reduce the size of the civilian stockpile, slow the arming of the population, and strengthen regulation of civilian ownership. "
"firearm registration, is perhaps the single most effective tool in stopping diversion of legal small arms from civilians."
"As in other fields of disarmament, reducing the danger of small arms also requires consideration of demand. What has motivated us to accumulate nearly 900 million guns on the planet, and how can we re-direct that motivation?"
"One of the benefits of the UN small arms process is that it has enabled a discussion of a new security paradigm. This new model recognizes that (a) threats to national security are more likely to come from within their borders than from outside attack, (b) the major security threats are not military but related to transnational topics such as disease, natural resources, flows of refugees, international organized crime, and (c) the price States are paying for small arms proliferation and misuse is too high, especially since it is preventable. This process and its companion projects have enormous potential to affect the mindset of Governments in relation small arms, and to encourage genuine disarmament progress. (The emphasis on international cooperation and assistance in the small arms process is especially helpful in this regard.)"
"What about the private individuals who control three-quarters of the global arsenal, and their motivation for acquiring arms? Again, there are some practical applications where guns are simply tools for feeding one’s family or doing one’s job. But the less rational factors driving demand among Governments also have their counterparts at the level of individuals—fear of the unknown, isolation, belief in the use of force to retain control, market and media pressure, masculine identity etc. Though these feelings may be irrational, they have a real impact. When translated into gun ownership they create insecurity for households, communities and countries as a whole. Paradoxically, people buy firearms because they feel insecure; and the result is more insecurity."
"The single most important step toward reducing demand for small arms is to enhance security, both in the reality and the perception. Strengthening security depends primarily on States and their policies to address the root causes of insecurity, relating to poverty, health, human rights, criminal and social justice. Improving perceptions of security involves many additional actors, including civil society and the media. Policies to reduce gun ownership provide benefits on both fronts, increasing both actual and perceived security, since the reason people want to have guns is because other people have them. Reducing the level of small arms proliferation is crucial in interrupting the spiral of insecurity.
"Practical steps toward disarmament include regulation, procedural reform, reassurance, information and persuasion."
"The challenges are significant, but countered by the certain knowledge that doing nothing will produce an outcome which is more dangerous and even harder to defuse. "
http://www.smallarmsstandards.org/isacs/0540-en.pdf[/url]
Page 7:
"Collection of small arms and light weapons: It is applicable in settings that have undergone legislative reform restricting the access of civilians to small arms"
The statement from page 11 below acknowledges what we all know to be blindingly obvious; so why is the UN's primary objective disarmament, rather than addressing what motivates people to hurt each other?
"Removing tools of violence from communities without addressing the root causes of conflict is unlikely to make a durable contribution to building peace and security."
Page 30:
"The timing and duration of a weapons collection programme may be influenced by a number of factors. Timing may be determined by such factors as a shocking incident involving the misuse of weapons."
In other words, keep ratcheting up restrictions on what firearms civilians may own (until no guns or very few "qualified" people are left), and use every possible excuse to justify disarmament, such as "mass shootings".
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