India 'must lead on ATT'

Indian Civil Society, Parliamentarians and Gun Survivors call for an International Arms Trade Treaty to stop the inflow of illegal small arms and light weapons

On Saturday, 13 September 2008, Control Arms Foundation of India (CAFI) commemorated the Global Day of Action for an International Arms Trade Treaty at the India International Centre, New Delhi, and urged the Government of India to support an International Arms Trade Treaty to stop the inflow of illegal small arms and light weapons.

In a memorandum submitted to Honourable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs, Shri Shivraj Patil, Minister of Home Affairs, and Shri AK Anthony, Ministry of Defence, CAFI asks the Government to recognise that proliferation of unregulated Small Arms and Light Weapons are a problem for India and that institutional mechanisms need to be strengthened for this at the national, regional, and international levels.

India is one of the most heavily armed countries in the world with around 40 million firearms circulating. Most of the legally registered arms are in civilian possession; but uncounted illegal weapons are in the hands of criminals or insurgents. The consequences are lethal, because every day, 12 people die from armed violence all over India.

One reason for the easy availability of weapons is the lack of regulation of the international arms trade. "About 16 billion bullets are manufactured every year, more than two bullets per person on earth. Yet there are more regulations in the music and film industry than in arms", states Binalakshmi Nepram, Secretary General CAFI. "This is fueling the ongoing conflicts in different parts of India and ultimately puts the security of Indian citizens at risk."

Moreover, in some regions gun violence already is a severe danger to people's security. Violence kills and injures innocent people. It obstructs all-day life and shatters the dreams of young Indians. "A firing incident in robbed me of my teens and my future", says Philem Johnson Singh (27) from Manipur. "A bullet pierced through my spinal cord and I became paraplegia. My dreams of becoming a sportsman and doctor were shattered."

India is a victim of unregulated Small Arms and Light Weapons. Therefore, transfer of arms that can be used for terrorism, genocide or other human rights abuses must be stopped. However, the Government of India must also recognise that these problems are international and therefore the solutions be international.

Already in late 2006, the United Nations General Assembly embarked on a process to help ending this violence caused by illegal arms. Several member states started to draft an International Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a legally binding instrument to regulate international transfers of conventional weapons. ATT aims at preventing the transfers of weapons into the wrong hands.

In India, Civil Society organisations such as Control Arms Foundation of India (CAFI), as well as members of Parliament and Gun Survivors are urging the Government of India to curb armed violence in the country and to support the Arms Trade Treaty.

Moreover, India needs to lead on the proposed International Arms Trade Treaty and must play a leading role in promoting the United Nation's process consistent with its history and its Constitution, particularly at the United Nations First Committee on Disarmament and International Security Affairs to be held in October 2008 in New York. Because this globally binding regulation can help to stop the inflow of illegal small arms and light weapons into our country.

"Indian citizens have spoken up against gun violence. Whether it was against the guns that killed Jessica Lal, or some lesser known person in an obscure valley of Manipur, Chhattisgarh or Kashmir, people in India are fighting against this illegal menace", says Dr. Anuradha Chenoy, Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi and Honorary Vice President of Control Arms Foundation of India.

So far, all over India, more than 30, 000 citizens have given their support to the Treaty by signing on to a petition submitted to the United Nations. Several prominent Indians such as Professor Amartya Sen, Admiral Ramdas, Rabbi Shergill, Nandita Das and several others have supported the initiative. Moreover, several members of the Indian parliament have given their support to efforts to strengthen international regulations for the trade and transfer of conventional weapons by signing a petition put forward by Control Arms Foundation of India

At the Day of Action, Shri E.N. Rammohan, Former Director General of the Border Security Force, also released a book published by CAFI on "India - Sustainable Development and Arms Trade Treaty".

Details and photographs can be also found at:http://www.cafi-online.org