Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], 212-633-4150, @AIUSAmedia
(NEW YORK) – In response to today's House briefing against the Arms Trade Treaty by Rep. Mike Kelly, Amnesty International USA issued the following comment from Michelle Ringuette, chief of campaigns and programs:
"We hope lawmakers at today's briefing will picture in their minds the scorching image of a civilian atrocity – because that is what is at stake. Taking a position against the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) means more children recruited as soldiers, more women raped in conflict zones, more families driven from their homes and more senseless deaths.
"The ATT will help protect lives by preventing weapons from being delivered into the hands of warlords, dictators and other human rights abusers who terrorize civilians. Where there is substantial risk that human rights abuses will be committed, the treaty would end the current unrestricted flow of arms that only fuels more conflict and death.
"We hope lawmakers will not succumb to the lies and distortions that the gun lobby has spewed about the treaty's impact on gun ownership in the United States. The Arms Trade Treaty will have no impact at all on gun rights within U.S. borders."
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.