The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote Tuesday on what would be the first U.N. treaty regulating arms trade. Assembly spokesman Nikola Jovanovic told The Associated Press on Monday that the resolution to adopt the treaty requires support from a majority of the 193 U.N. member states. Since the treaty had strong support when it was brought before U.N. members last Thursday, its approval is virtually certain - unless there are attempts to amend it before the vote. The General Assembly had left open the possibility of a vote on the treaty if it failed to achieve consensus. Jovanovic said the assembly will meet at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) on Tuesday when the first order of business will be a report from the chair of the negotiations, Australian Ambassador Peter Woolcott. That will be followed by the vote. The draft resolution, obtained by AP, would adopt the Arms Trade Treaty that was put to members last Thursday. If approved, the resolution asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as depositary of the treaty, to open it for signature by member states on June 3. It calls on all nations to consider signing and then ratifying the treaty "at the earliest possible date."
