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?

At least 250,000 lives are lost every year due to armed conflict, while 300,000 armed killings occur outside of conflict every year.

Weapons are often traded irresponsibly between countries, with little consideration of whether they’ll be used to commit human rights abuses.

Legal loopholes in the international laws governing the trade in arms and munitions enable countries and corporations to sell guns, bullets and teargas to dictators and tyrants who've used them to kill and violently repress civilians.

We’re campaigning for stronger international laws to combat the human suffering enabled by the irresponsible trade of arms. A strong Arms Trade Treaty could save hundreds of thousands of lives every year.

More Information

• Global Arms Trade Treaty – a beginner’s guide
• Women explain why an arms trade treaty can save many lives
• Infographic: Who supplies the world’s weapons? (PDF)
• 10 killer facts: the global weapons trade (PDF, 500KB)

• Historic Negotiations - July 2012

Watch out Obama "Harlem Shake" in support of a strong ATT




Amnesty International Aims

Our global campaign is calling for a treaty that:

• Is strong enough to regulate trade of all conventional weapons, including small arms, machine guns, bullets and tear gas
• Prevents the sale and transfer of weapons that could be used to commit serious human rights abuses

Amnesty International has been working on the issue for decades by documenting how weapons are used to kill and perpetrate human rights violations. Our calls for stronger regulations have brought us this far. It’s key we keep up the pressure globally and ensure a strong treaty is passed with human rights at its core.

In New Zealand  we’re lobbying our leaders to play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region by using their influence to help spur support for an effective Arms Trade Treaty.

More Information

• Pacific Involvement in the Arms Trade Treaty


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