Every year,
more than 300,000 people are killed with conventional weapons. Millions more
are injured, abused, forcibly displaced and bereaved as a result of armed
violence.
As UN member states meet in October to consider moving towards negotiations on an Arms Trade Treaty, a new detailed report by Amnesty International urges world leaders to adopt a “Golden Rule” on human rights. This rule states simply that governments must prevent arms transfers where there is a substantial risk that they are likely to be used for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
The World is Watching week will see activists and supporters of the Control Arms Campaign in more than 50 countries urge their governments
to reach an agreement on an effective Arms Trade Treaty as quickly as
possible.
110 states have agreed a provisional text for a historic new Convention on
Cluster Munitions, which is a treaty to ban the "Use, Production and
Transfer of Cluster Munitions".
All shipments of small arms, light weapons and ammunition ordered from
China by the Zimbabwe Government must be halted as there is a real risk
that it may lead to increased human rights violations.
All shipments of small arms, light weapons and ammunition ordered from
China by the Zimbabwe Government must be halted as there is a real risk
that it may lead to increased human rights violations in Zimbabwe, said
Amnesty International.
Amnesty International today strongly condemned the expansion of China’s lethal injection programme and called on the Chinese authorities to accelerate the abolition of the death penalty.
On this 55th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
threats of new terrorist attacks and the dangers of weapons of mass
destruction dominate the headlines.
