19 December 2005
2005 has been a really successful year for Control Arms. The number of governments which publicly support our call for an Arms Trade Treaty has massively increased from 9 to 42 and the Million Faces petition reached its half-way target. This success has built real momentum as we head into 2006 – a crucial year for decision making in which the UN Review Conference on small arms takes place.
One of the main aims of Control Arms is to get governments to give public support for an International Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). March saw great news when Jack Straw (the UK’s Foreign Secretary) not only reaffirmed his government’s support for the ATT but also promised to champion it by striving to gain other countries’ support.
France - a key target for the campaign as one of the biggest exporters of arms - announced their backing for the ATT in June. This followed an email action Control Arms supporters sent to President Chirac calling for him to support the campaign.
Another major boost came from a big UN conference in July when 13 new governments gave their public support for the ATT. At the time this doubled the number of supportive governments. The event had been targeted as a vital milestone for the campaign, as it was part of the United Nations process set up to tackle the issue of arms control.
In October the European Union (EU) announced for the first time that it supports the ATT. The agreement was made at the EU council which means all 25 member states have now given their support. It is also of vital significance given that the EU currently accounts for two fifths (39%) of global arms sales.
A number of other inter-governmental meetings issued supportive statements, including November's Commonwealth Heads of States Meeting (with 52 members), and the Nairobi Secretariat. The MERCOSUR countries in South America also issued a statement in general support of arms controls.
This fantastic series of announcements, along with support from other individual governments, means that governments’ support for the ATT has increased by almost five times in 2005.
This success wouldn’t have been possible without the widespread public support for the campaign from people all around the world. The number of sign-ups to our Million Faces petition reached over 500,000 in September and continues to grow. If you have already joined the petition, your support has helped to make all this possible. If you have yet to join please do so today here.
As we head into 2006, we are now over halfway to our target number of sign-ups. Activists across the globe are drawing up exciting plans to make sure that we reach the million mark by June in time for the UN meeting. This is a vital meeting, giving governments the opportunity to take steps towards tough regulations on the arms trade.
Between now and July campaigners will be working hard to ensure that massive public pressure is brought to bear on governments. On 18 March we are launching the “100 days countdown “ to the UN Conference. Events around the world will mark the launch of this countdown, and a range of activities will take place during the 100 days to generate sign-ups to the Million Faces and gain widespread media coverage for the campaign.
The Countdown will also include a Week of Action (22-29 May) in which national Control Arms coalitions will present all the Million Faces collected in their own country to their government. This will send governments a strong message, in the month before the UN Conference, of the need to push for tough arms controls. The Countdown will culminate in June with a spectacular media stunt when all of the Million Faces collected worldwide will be delivered to the delegates at the UN Conference in New York.
In addition to all this media and public campaigning work, lobbyists will be working hard meeting officials from across the world - to push home the message that 2006 is the year when governments must take action to deliver tough controls on the international arms trade.
Don’t forget, if you haven’t already signed the Million Faces petition please do so today. If you have already – thank you, and please urge your friends and family to do so.
Demand stricter control on arms. Join the Million Faces petition
|
