Nobel Peace Price Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa writes:
For many years, I've been involved in the peace business, doing what I can to help people overcome their differences. In doing so, I've also learned a lot about the business of war: the arms trade. It is an industry out of control. Every day, more than 1,000 innocent people, including children, are killed by conventional weapons, according to the UN.
There have been international treaties to control the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons for decades. Yet, despite the mounting death toll, there still is no treaty governing sales of small arms and other conventional weapons, from handguns to attack helicopters. As a result, all too easily these weapons fall into the wrong hands, fueling human-rights abuses, prolonging wars and digging countries deeper into poverty.
This is allowed to continue because of the complicity of governments, especially the governments of rich countries that turn a blind eye to the appalling human suffering associated with the proliferation of conventional weapons. It is estimated that every year small arms kill more people than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki put together.
(...)
In October, the world's governments will vote on a UN General Assembly resolution to start working toward an arms trade treaty. That treaty would be based on a simple principle: no weapons for violations of international law. In other words, a ban on selling weapons if there is a clear risk that they will be used to abuse human rights or fuel conflict.
I agree. We must end impunity for governments that authorize the supply of weapons when they know there's a great danger that those weapons will be used for gross human rights abuses.
Today, great strides are being made toward ending impunity for war criminals. It cannot be acceptable that their arms suppliers continue to escape punishment. Fifty-five governments, including much of Africa, Latin America and Europe, support the arms trade treaty. No longer should the peace business be undermined by the arms business."
FULL TEXT in Chicago Tribune
My Questions: Would an international treaty governing sales of small arms really make a difference? I mean, there will always be a lot of arms smuggling...
Wasn't the UN supposed to vote on such a treaty a couple of months ago? Did that vote only fail due to the silly opposition of a paranoid National Rifle Association in the US, who thought the evil UN would take arms away from Americans or where there other reasons?