World's Parliamentarians urge UN to back Arms Trade Treaty

Tomorrow [Monday 20th October] the United Nations
will receive the demands of over 2,000 parliamentarians from 124
countries for urgent progress towards negotiation of an effective
international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to help save lives and prevent
grave human rights abuse and the ongoing destruction of livelihoods.

With
over 1,000 people being killed every day by armed violence, the
parliamentarians have shown their support for an Arms Trade Treaty by
signing a declaration that will be presented to the Chair of the UN
General Assembly's Disarmament and International Security Committee
(1st Committee), Ambassador Marco Antonio Suazo Fernandez, from
Honduras, at a meeting at the UN on Monday.

Later this month the
UN will take a crucial vote on whether to take forward plans to develop
a treaty that will tighten the global trade in conventional arms, and
to specifically consider how to stop transfers of weapons likely to be
used for violations of international human rights law, and humanitarian
law.

Parliamentarians, Ibrahim Toure from Mali, Ana Theresia
Hontiveros-Baraquel from the Philippines and Gagan Thapa from Nepal
will hand over the declaration signed by their counterparts from around
the world.

Speaking in advance of the handover event, Ibrahim Toure from Mali, one of the first states to back an ATT, said:

"Without
an effective international treaty setting high common standards for all
forms of international arms transfers covering all conventional arms,
human rights and human security will continue to be at the mercy of
irresponsible arms traders.

Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel from the Philippines added:

"It
is a privilege to represent the thousands of parliamentarians around
the world who have declared their backing for stronger controls on the
arms trade. We are all too aware of the huge human cost of arms misuse
and we urge the states of the UN to vote to take forward a global
legally binding Arms Trade Treaty.

Gagan Thapa from Nepal, added:

"As
parliamentarians we collectively represent hundreds of thousands of
people. We know that millions of men and women around the world support
tougher controls on the arms trade. That's why we are urging all states
to take urgent action to Control Arms."