During a meeting at the UN in New York in September 2014, St Lucia, Argentina, Czech Republic, Senegal, Bahamas, Uruguay, Portugal and Bosnia Herzegovina ratified the treaty, bringing the total number of ratifications to 53 – and triggering a 90-day countdown to entry into force. In an interview with Vice news in September 2014, Shetty said the following of the Arms Trade Treaty:“For the first time there is a treaty that says that before any shipment, any trade or transfer of funds, there has to be due diligence to make sure the arms don't end up in the hands of the wrong people using them for abuses. So, it's a very laudable treaty. Of course, like all treaties, signing it is one thing — the challenge is its implementation…so we still have a long way to go. The good thing is the biggest arms exporters in Europe have all signed up. The US hasn't, and China and Russia haven't. It gives us a rather slim victory nevertheless.”Shetty addressed heads of states and governments representing civil society at the historic UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit in 2015. The aim of the Summit was to formally adopt an ambitious new sustainable development agenda which will serve as the launch pad for action by the international community and by national governments to promote shared prosperity and well-being for all over the next 15 years. Goals include end poverty, achieve gender equality, reduce inequality, ensure access to water and many more. In his speech, Shetty stressed on the importance of accountability, ownership, inclusivity and coherence in order to make the Sustainable Development Goals achievable in the coming years. He also crucially highlighted some of the paradoxes of many countries in the Global North who claim to have a long commitment to international development. He said, “You cannot claim to support sustainable development when you are reluctant to reduce the consumption of the rich or transfer technology. You cannot preach about human rights while practising mass surveillance. You cannot lecture about peace while being the world’s largest manufacturers of arms. You cannot allow your corporations to use financial and tax loopholes while railing against corruption. You cannot adopt the Sustainable Development Goals and at the same time attack and arrest peaceful protesters and dissenters. You cannot launch these Sustainable Development Goals and in parallel deny a safe and legal route to refugees, a life with dignity.”In recognition of the accelerated developments in the field of technology, Shetty initiated Amnesty International's Technology and Human Rights initiative in June 2017, based in Silicon Valley in order to interact with and influence the world's most powerful IT companies.