Vietnam shares concern about the danger and burden caused by the illicit trade of conventional arms in relation to peace, security, development and the welfare of human-beings at both a national and international levels.

Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, Vietnam ’s Permanent Representative to the UN, made the statement at the ongoing UN final conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) held in New York .

Trung said that to be effective, the treaty should be balanced between the above mentioned issues and o ther important factors such as nations’ legitimate right to self-defence, the maintenance of international peace and security, threat or use of force in international relations, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

According to the ambassador, the ATT should be realistic and non-discriminatory, and it should be negotiated openly and transparently.

He affirmed that Vietnam will participate in an active and constructive manner at the conference for the common goal of the international community of minimising the consequences of the illegal trade of arms.

During the 10-day event, which is expected to wrap up on March 28, participants from 193 UN member states placed weight on discussions of arms trade conditions, scope of adjustments and specific regulations for the implementation framework and mechanism of each state.

Unlike nuclear weapons, there is no international-level treaty to monitor the conventional arms trade.-VNA