16 February 2006
Control Arms: one face can go a long way
Local Oxfam campaigner, Amy Merone, tells us why we should all care about the campaign to control the arms trade.
When collecting images for the Control Arms photography exhibition in Manchester, I'm often asked by people 'What difference will an international arms trade treaty make?' 'Why don't we try to abolish the arms trade altogether?' Or 'It doesn't affect me so why should I care?' Well, here's why you should care and why it does affect you.
What difference will an international Arms Trade Treaty make?
Under an Arms Trade Treaty, illegal transfers of weapons to police forces that are corrupt (and where weapons are used to intimidate, torture and kill) would be banned. So too would arms sold to governments where civilians are targeted. The treaty would be legally binding and would bring arms export standards into line with international law. That means that weapons currently sold to militiamen in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (where they are used by child soldiers who have been kidnapped, trained and forced to kill or be killed) would be banned.
Why don't we try to abolish the arms trade altogether?
What we can't do is wake up tomorrow morning and there be no guns in the world. What we can do is form a plan of action. We can target the people and governments who are capable of making decisions that can potentially alter the fate of millions of people all over the world. An international Arms Trade Treaty would set a 'moral gold standard' and make people accountable for their actions. Since the Landmine Ban Treaty came into force, no single country has traded anti-personnel landmines. This shows that we can make a difference.
It doesn't affect me so why should I care?
The arms trade and gun crime affects people from all over the world - including the UK. So, even if you think you live far way from countries affected by arms trade abuses - think again. When campaigning I met a teacher who told me that, as well as having children in his class who had lost family members in shootings in Congo, he'd also met children whose families had been shot dead in Birmingham.
Last week I met a man from the Congo who worked as a political activist with students in the capital of Kinshasa. He was arrested, sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, held at gunpoint and told that he could be executed at any time. We're lucky to live in a society where we can voice our concerns and opinions, so we should use our voices to speak out about the injustices faced by millions of people in the world.
We can give countries and people aid and we can campaign for trade justice, but if we don't try to stop human rights abuses, indiscriminate killings and torture, violence towards and rape of women - all influenced by an unregulated arms trade - then we can't stop poverty and suffering.
5 ways YOU can make a difference
1. Add your face to the Million Faces petition and give your support to the call for an international Arms Trade Treaty.
2. Write to your local MP (find out who your MP is by visiting www.writetothem.com) and ask them to sign up to Early Day Motion 1126 to increase pressure on the government to act.
3. Help mark the start of 100 Days of Action for the Control Arms campaign on Saturday 18 March by holding an event at your school or college, or asking your friends, neighbours and relatives to sign up to the campaign.
4. Write an article about Control Arms for your student magazine, local newspaper or parish newsletter.
5. Join a local campaigning group in your area and get involved in events to raise people's awareness of the campaign and arms trade abuses.
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I graduated with a degree in journalism and spent the first half of last year in Africa. I used to volunteer for the Oxfam Campaigns office in Manchester, and am now volunteering in Nigeria with VSO.
