Arms Trade Treaty

(c) Aris Chatzistefanou/Demontix

NO ARMS FOR ATROCITIES OR ABUSES

Commit to an effective Arms Trade Treaty

Did you know that each year enough bullets are made to kill every person on this planet ... twice?

And that eight million new guns are manufactured to fire them?

The arms trade is a booming and deadly business. And it’s also an industry that is not globally regulated.

The global trade in conventional arms, such as guns, tanks, rockets and planes, carries an enormous human cost. Thousands of people have been killed, injured, raped and forced to flee from their homes as a result.

What is happening in the Middle East and North Africa is the most compelling of that right now.

Many of these breaches are the result of the failure by many governments to prevent the international sale and transfer of weaponry, munitions, armaments etc to where they have been used in violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

To be effective any treaty must encompass current weaknesses and loopholes in existing arms control mechanisms to ensure arms won't be sold to human rights abusers or to where serious human abuses can occur.

Amnesty International is calling on governments to take action and to commit to an effective Arms Trade Treaty with respect for human rights at its core.

We have until July 2012 to convince governments that the world needs an Arms Trade Treaty that keeps guns out of the hands of human rights abusers. Become active! NOW!