Arms Trade

Children -- no matter where they live -- must be kept safe
from gun violence.  From March 18-28th, world leaders will negotiate the first treaty to stop weapons from ending up in the hands of warlords, rapists and others who abuse human rights.

Around the globe, over a billion children live in countries impacted by armed conflict that is fueled by small arms and conventional weapons. These children are at grave risk of being abducted and trafficked, used as soldiers and sex slaves, forced from their homes, attacked at school.

Two-thirds of the world's countries want to end this carnage by strengthening the regulation of the global arms trade. As the largest arms exporter in the world, the United States has not just an opportunity, but an obligation, to do something to reduce this violence.

It's time to stop dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands. The lives of millions of children depend on it. Support a strong Arms Trade Treaty now!

Every year hundreds of thousands of people are killed, injured, raped and forced to flee their homes as a result of armed violence. Amnesty International's research shows that the majority of grave human rights abuses are committed using small arms, light weapons and other military and policing equipment.

To protect human rights, governments must prevent easy access to arms, and strictly regulate their lawful uses. Armed forces and police are too often poorly trained and unaccountable when measured by international human rights standards. Opposition groups, vigilantes, criminal gangs and civilians can also easily access and misuse arms, sometimes on a massive scale. Surplus and unlawful arms need to be removed and destroyed. And new supplies must urgently be restricted. In order to help stop irresponsible arms transfers globally, Amnesty International has called for a global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) that would establish strict rules for the international transfer of arms, and hold irresponsible arms suppliers and dealers to account.

A "golden rule" is desperately needed in an ATT that would require governments to stop an arms transfer when there is a substantial risk that the arms are likely to be used for serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Amnesty has worked tirelessly to gather the support of its millions-strong global human rights movement. Popular mobilization coupled with smart advocacy in over 100 countries has resulted in increasingly large historic votes at the UN General Assembly in favor of developing a "strong and robust" ATT.

But what kind of Arms Trade Treaty will they agree upon? Will the treaty cover all types of arms transfers and contain a "golden rule"? Or will supportive governments surrender to the few skeptical powers which have opposed the treaty and who now seek to include major loopholes in the treaty?

You can join Amnesty International in demanding a strong ATT that will have proper rules to really help save lives, protect livelihoods and prevent further grave abuses of human rights.