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Preparatory meeting on Arms Trade Treaty convenes in Vienna

VIENNA, April 20 (KUNA) -- A preparatory meeting for the First Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) kicked off in the Austria's capital on Monday.
About 300 representatives from governments, international organizations and civil society from about 100 countries are participating in the gathering.
Austrian Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Linhart and UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane underlined in speeches the importance of making use of experiences in the past and building an effective system regulating the arms trade.
They called on all countries to sign the ATT.
The representatives discuss in the two-day meeting several topics on how to implement the treaty in an effective way.
Other preparatory meetings are set to convene for the First Conference of States Parties to the treaty slated for August 24 in Mexico.
The ATT entered into force in a record time after its adoption on December 24, 2014, when 154 countries voted for it.
The treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly on April 2, 2013, aims to regulate the rules of international trade of conventional weapons estimated at about USD 85 billion annually. (end) amq.hm