Document - Nobel Peace Prize Laureates appeal for an Arms Trade Treaty
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Open Letter
AI Index: POL 30/052/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 274
24 October 2006
Embargo Date: 24 October 2006 04:01GMT
Nobel Peace Prize Laureates appeal for an Arms Trade Treaty
October 2006
We, the undersigned Nobel Peace Prizewinners, believe it imperative for humanity that the number of deaths caused by firearms be reduced.
In order to halt the abuses arising from the trading and irresponsible use of arms, we are adamant that this activity needs to be subject to strict supervision and controls.
We support the steps taken to establish a treaty on the arms trade that ensures that arms dealing is controlled through the obligatory implementation of standards.
We who are gathered her today agree that such an instrument should cover at least the following points:
All international arms transfers should be authorized by a recognized State and carried out in accordance with national laws and procedures that reflect, at the very least, the obligations incumbent on States under international law.
No State should authorize international arms transfers that violate the specific obligations incumbent upon it under international law with regard to arms.
No State should authorize international arms transfers if they are, or may be, used to violate international law.
States must take account of factors such as the probable use to which arms will be put before authorizing transfers.
States should submit annual national reports on arms transfers to an international registry.
States should agree common standards for setting up specific control mechanisms.
We reaffirm the urgency of working towards such a treaty in order to lead humanity to a safer world.
We urge the governments represented at the United Nations General Assembly to take notice of our request for greater control to be instigated over the transfer of arms which are causing the peoples of the world so much pain and destruction.
American Friends Service Committee
Amnesty International
Oscar Arias
Máiread Corrigan Maguire
Dalai Lama
Shirin Ebadi
Mohamed ElBaradei
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Rigoberta Menchu
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
José Ramos Horta
Desmond Tutu
Lech Walesa
Betty Williams
Jody Williams
This appeal is an initiative of the Oscar Arias Foundation, with the support of the Control Arms Campaign.
The Control Arms Campaign is a joint campaign by Amnesty International, Oxfam International and the International Action Network on Small Arms.
Public Document
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