Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – In early November, the United Nations Disarmament Commission will examine the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The Treaty was also mentioned in the Final List of Propositions of the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops presented to the Pope: “The Church in Africa, gathered in the Synod, due to the proliferation of arms and mines on the continent and on its islands, unites itself to the Holy See, and whole-heartedly welcomes the initiatives of the UN, the African Union, and the regional intergovernmental organizations such as ECOWAS – Embargo on light weapons, to stop illegal arms trafficking and make any legal vending of arms honest. The Synod recommends that the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace updates its documents on the vending of arms.
The Synod Fathers encourage the national governments to support the study underway and the preparation of an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) at the UN, with universal standards of coercion for global trade of conventional arms, which should respect human rights and international humanitarian laws.”
The talks for adopting the treaty ran aground three years ago, after the majority of the member states of the UN approved a proposal to stop the illegal trafficking of small-caliber weapons. A group of seven countries, led by Great Britain, are now placing pressures to carry out concrete progress in the next session of the UN General Assembly's Disarmament Commission, which will begin in early November and last one month.
The United States, the largest producer in the world, exporter and importer of small-caliber weapons, changed its position in 2006, when it was the only country to vote against the Treaty. The new administration supports the continuation of formal negotiations.
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) calls for the establishment of a system of risk evaluations to determine the legitimacy of any transaction of light weaponry, case by case, on the basis of the probability of whether or not the arms are used to hurt civilians or for any other purpose other than the legitimate demands of national defense or internal security and police forces. The Treaty is also intended to reinforce the already existing accords on ethical standards in the export of arms and establish legal guidelines for prosecuting transgressors. The legal dispositions will be at the heart of the debate amongst the countries.
The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty of 1997 set an encouraging precedence for the ATT.
According to UN records, worldwide, there are 875 million small-caliber arms in circulation, the majority of them privately owned. A serious consequence of this situation is the recruitment of child-soldiers, facilitating the fact that various light weaponry can be adapted to their physical stature. Several years ago, a light weaponry producer advertised an arms' fair in southeast Asia, for assault weapons, which were designed for “the small stature of the Asian peoples.” From there, it is evident that it is just a small step away from designing a weapon for a child. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 27/10/2009)
