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.
Over the past month, Oxfam France, Amnesty International France, and CCFD- Terre Solidaire have been working together to ensure that the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was an issue inserted into the French presidential race. The members of the Control Arms coalition compiled information on each candidate’s position on the ATT and made that information available through the Oxfam France website.
In addition to publicizing the positions of each of the top ten presidential candidates, the coalition members encouraged the incorporation of the ATT into public debates and other campaign activities. In the lead up to the second round of voting, the three partner organizations issued a challenge to Francois Hollande and incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy to speak out about their positions and indicate how they proposed to accomplish a meaningful Arms Trade Treaty.
Through this initiative, it was determined that Hollande, now the French president-elect, had a rather favorable position regarding the Treaty. Hollande expressed a commitment to having France play a leading role in the adoption of an strong and robust ATT that was centered on respect for human rights, international humanitarian law, and economic and social rights. Hollande further noted that he wanted to see a more “controlled” defense industry with increased levels of transparency. Sarkozy did not respond to the call for a statement made by the organizations.
