As part of the “100 Days of Speaking Out!”, a countdown to the treaty negotiations, Control Arms will regularly feature stories and profiles of different people who support a bulletproof ATT.
Amnesty International has released a new report today entitled “’If you resist, we’ll shoot you’: The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Case for an Effective Arms Trade Treaty”. The report highlights how Congolese security forces and armed groups alike are able to commit serious human rights violations because of the ease of which weapons and ammunition are available.
“The situation in the DRC demonstrates the urgent need for governments around the world to agree on a comprehensive Arms Trade Treaty when final negotiations take place at the UN in July, ” said Paule Rigaud, Deputy Programme Director for Africa at Amnesty International.
The report shows how fundamental flaws in the Congolese security apparatus allow the persistent misuse and diversion of weapons and ammunition which in turn pave the way to ongoing serious human rights and humanitarian law violations and abuses by the armed forces and armed groups.
Amnesty International is a founding member of Control Arms. Click here to view the full report.