Working together to end poverty and injustice

Control Arms: understanding the issues

Arms kill more than half a million men, women, and children on average each year. Thousands more are maimed, or tortured, or forced to flee their homes.

Arms kill more than half a million men, women, and children on average each year. Many thousands more are maimed, or tortured, or forced to flee their homes.

There are no comprehensive, legally binding rules to control the international arms trade. As a result arms often end up in conflict zones where they’re used to perpetrate human rights abuses.

Conflict destroys years of development

Armed violence – whether in the form of armed conflict, gang warfare, or domestic abuse – seriously limits people’s ability to earn a living, grow crops, or benefit from education. Years of development are undone by war and conflict.

Billions of dollars that could be spent on development, health and education are instead poured into arms. For every dollar spent on development, ten dollars are spent on military budgets.

Millions join the Control Arms campaign

Oxfam, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) established the Control Arms campaign in 2003 to demand governments toughen up controls on the arms trade and introduce an international Arms Trade Treaty to stop arms being sold to those likely to misuse them.

The campaign has gathered the support of over one million people around the world. In June 2006, the “Million Faces” petition was presented to Kofi Annan.

The solution: time for an international Arms Trade Treaty

In December 2006, three years of tireless work involving more than one million campaigners came to fruition, when 153 governments voted at the UN General Assembly to start work on an Arms Trade Treaty to limit the flow of arms into conflict zones, and the hands of oppressive regimes.

In October 2009, most of the world’s governments agreed a timetable to establish a Treaty with the “highest possible common international standards” to control international transfers of conventional arms.

Towards 2012: keeping up the pressure

In July 2010, negotiations began on the terms of the Arms Trade Treaty, leading up to a conference in 2012. We hope member states will develop, sign and ratify an International ATT at this conference in 2012.

Oxfam attended the UN conference in July 2010 to encourage the nations of the world to establish a treaty that holds governments to account, and is workable, enforceable and strong enough to save lives.

Find out more

• Find out how weaknesses in New Zealand company law allowed unscrupulous international arms brokers to drag the country into the illegal arms trade (Oct 10)
• Human rights abusers put on notice as states move closer to arms trade deal (26 Jul 10)
• Read the report: Dying for Action - Why the world needs an Arms Trade Treaty (PDF 350KB)
• More reports on Control Arms, conflict and peace-building
• Find out more and join the campaign on the Control Arms website
• Watch Control Arms video on YouTube