Nick Clegg writes in the Independent today on international standards in the arms trade:
As always with international norms, the first, crucial step is laying global ground rules that can be built on over time. What is needed is leadership. The UK has spearheaded this agenda within the UN, for which former Foreign Secretary David Miliband deserves considerable credit. The baton has now passed to the coalition and we understand that credibility abroad rests on leading by example at home. Ours is one of the most rigorous regulatory regimes in the world, but there’s always room to do better. We must meet the highest standards if we expect others to do the same.
You can read the article in full here.
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
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2 Comments
“…international standards in the arms trade…We must meet the highest standards if we expect others to do the same….”
What was that? I must’ve imagined Cameron et al going to Bahrain to flog our military hardware to this dispotic regime
Jim is right to be cautious about Nick Clegg’s enthusiasm for an arms trade treaty. Any such treaty is highly unlikely to be effective while the UK and other governments continue to support and subsidise arms exports, including those to repressive regimes and areas of conflict as well as to countries with pressing development needs. The coalition government’s commitment to arms export promotion was confirmed in the Defence Equipment White Paper earlier this month. It needs to be recognised that this policy is not compatible with the protection of human rights or with peace and justice.