Parliamentarians' Declaration presented to UN

Today Control Arms presented a 2,000-strong 'Parliamentarian Declaration' to the Chair of the UN General Assembly’s Disarmament and International Security Committee (1st Committee), Ambassador Marco Antonio Suazo Fernández.

We asked parliamentarian Ibrahim Toure from Mali, one of the first states to back an ATT and one of the Parliamentarians present at the hand in of the 2000 signatures from over 124 countries, to take a break from his busy schedule and tell us why he felt this treaty was so vital in his region.

"Stockpiling and the unregulated proliferation of arms throughout the world are the gravest dangers against the stability of my region. Issues such as child soldiers, and the prevalence of gangs in urban centers represent serious attacks on our democracies and the harmonious development of our societies and is causing millions of innocent victims, displaced people and refugees.

"How can we sleep, with 16 billion pieces of ammunition - equal to 2 pieces of ammunition to each of us - in the world? Can we speak about the respect of human rights in West Africa, with 8 millions of small arms and light weapons that circulate without control? We must secure a legally binding international Arms Trade Treaty before it is too late."

You can read the declaration and find out more about it, including which countries signed up, here.

Related posts: 

• Landslide UN vote in favour of Arms Trade Treaty - 31 October 2008
• Senior military officers back an Arms Trade Treaty - 24 October 2008
• 192 missions in 192 minutes! - 21 October 2008
• The world is watching...through 20 foot glasses! - 18 October 2008
• 83 countries co-sponsor the resolution - 17 October 2008
• Control Arms at the UN - Why are we here? - 16 October 2008
• From rickshaws to giant sunglasses; Control Arms at the UN 2008 - 15 October 2008