ACTION ALERT – JANUARY 2004

GOOD SHEPHERD VOICES FOR JUSTICE

STOP UNREGULATED ARMS TRADE

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The Good Shepherd Voices for Justice group joins the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns in support of the following action alert from Amnesty International. We ask today that you urge the U.S. government to stop unregulated arms trade and weapons proliferation. We suggest that you write your Senators and demand a binding international law to control weapons.

BACKGROUND

The absence of effective international and national controls of arms transfers has led to countless atrocities and human rights abuses around the world. In the last decade, over five million people were killed using conventional weapons, many of them civilians and many killed by illicit arms. Amnesty International urges the U.S. government to take action to establish effective mechanisms for the legal and transparent transfer of arms, and to prevent weapons from getting into the wrong hands.

Note:

• An average of US$22 billion a year is spent on arms by countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America – a sum that would otherwise allow them to meet development goals such as reducing infant and maternal mortality.
• Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many provisions regulating the availability of arms have been relaxed as countries seek to arm their allies.
• The U.S. has significantly increased military aid to many countries including some that have committed grave human rights abuses and are thus identified by the State Department as having a “poor” human rights record
• Currently there are no binding international laws to control arms, leaving the responsibility to national governments.

Amnesty International recognizes the legitimacy of states to purchase weapons for the defense of their citizens and their territorial integrity. However, this legitimacy has been grossly abused by states that have used arms supposedly acquired for legitimate ends to commit human rights abuses, including war crimes.

ACTION

Write a letter to your Senators urging them to take action to stop unregulated arms trade.

Here is a sample letter. We suggest you modify and use your own phrasing if possible.

If you need contact information on where to send this letter, click here.

The Honorable [your senator’s name]

United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator ________________ :

I am deeply concerned by the unregulated proliferation of arms, which has contributed to devastating atrocities around the world. Often these arms flow to countries and armed groups who use them for torture, repression, and crimes against humanity. It is estimated that arms kill approximately 1,300 people across the globe each day – a total of half a million per year or almost one life per minute. I urge the United States government to examine the dangers and human rights impact of the unregulated or illicit transfer of weapons and to take steps to end such abuses.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is an example of how lax and at times non-existent regulation to conventional arms transfers have a devastating impact on human rights. Over three million people have died in the DRC since 1998 as a result of the misuse of these weapons. The abundance of arms is impelled by the exploitation of natural resources such as timber, coltan, diamonds, gold, and cobalt. These arms fuel violent conflicts between warring factions, which have resulted in gross and widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Abuses include mass killings, the widespread use of child soldiers, rape as a method of torture, the use of landmines, and kidnappings.

Some of the arms used to commit such atrocities in the DRC are reported to have been manufactured in the Belgium, China, France, Germany, Israel, Spain, the UK, and the United States. Some of these weapons were supplied directly to the belligerents and some may have been transported prior to the current conflict. Regardless, the long life span of such weapons means that they continue to be responsible for current abuses.

The U.S. government must improve its capacity to control its own arms transfers in order to further protect U.S. citizens and those of other nations from armed violence. Further, the U.S. must cooperate with other nations to develop guidelines to insure that all proposed arms deals—including those brokered by a third party—undergo strict and transparent licensing procedures, and that all arms manufacturers and brokers register with their country of citizenship or residence.

The United States has an important role to play in ensuring that no arms transfers are made to states where these items may be used to commit human rights abuses. The millions who have been maimed or killed in the DRC are but one example of the deleterious effects of the unregulated flow of arms around the world.

The U.S. Senate has an obligation to play its part in halting this trade. I ask you to urge the Bush administration to examine the human rights impact of the widespread misuse of weapons, improve enforcement of existing controls, and take steps to end the unregulated arms trade.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

CATHOLIC/GOOD SHEPHERD CONNECTION

Our Destination Justice Focus Statement informs us that we believe that a commitment to social justice is as much a part of being Catholic as the Eucharist is. One of the keys to forming our conscience about social justice is following the 7 Principles Catholic Social Teaching. One of these principles is the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. The squandering of resources at the rate of $22 billion dollars a year deprives those most vulnerable from a significant contribution toward meeting things like development goals and reducing the infant and maternal mortality. We are called to view world events in the light of the Gospels, and speak and act accordingly.

FURTHER DETAIL

For the full text of this issue, visit the Maryknoll website.