UN passes treaty to regulate global arms sales

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday passed the
first-ever treaty to regulate international arms sales, dpa reported.
The Arms Trade Treaty, which had been seven years in the making,
outlines global guidelines for the sales of arms.
The vote came after a conference on the treaty failed to pass the
agreement by consensus Thursday, leaving it up to the General
Assembly to approve it. It did so on a 154-3 vote.
Twenty-three countries - including India, Sudan and Indonesia -
abstained from the vote, citing inadequacies in the text.
Now it is up to each member state to ratify the treaty.