Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], 212-633-4150, @strimel
(New York) — A new version of the Joss Stone song "Take Good Care" – co-written with the British photojournalist Paul Conroy, who was injured in Syria — will be released Thursday, July 5, in support of Amnesty International’s campaign for an international arms trade treaty. Negotiations on the treaty begin July 2 and run through July 27 at the United Nations.
The song is accompanied by a music video with war footage filmed by Conroy, who was injured in the bombardment of Homs, Syria that killed his colleague at the London Sunday Times, U.S.-born journalist Marie Colvin. The video provides a poignant illustration of the devastation caused by weapons placed in the wrong hands. It is co-written by Conroy and produced by Dave Stewart, the British musician, songwriter and record producer.
"When you think about the fact that every year two bullets for every person on the planet are produced, it is quite clear the arms trade is out of control," Stewart said. "There has never been a greater need to tighten regulations on the arms trade than now."
The launch of "Take Good Care" coincides with the opening week of negotiations at the United Nations, where world leaders will hammer out details on the international arms trade treaty. The treaty would control conventional weapons that kill one person every minute in armed conflict worldwide. An effective treaty could save tens of thousands of lives and prevent the worst violations of human rights. Amnesty International has found that 60 percent of the human rights violations it documents – including mass rapes, executions and disappearances — involve conventional arms that have few constraints on their transfer to countries where dictators, militias and war lords commit atrocities with impunity. The organization has pushed for years to get the treaty on the U.N. agenda and plans a monthlong campaign to see it adopted.
What: New version of Joss Stone’s “Take Good Care” for an effective Arms Trade Treaty
When: Thursday, July 5
Where: The song will be available for download on digital sites.
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.