'End The Arms Trade' Says MEP In Backing Oxfam And Amnesty Campaign

9.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 10th Oct 2003

Chris Huhne in Cambodia putting small arms on a bonfire to be burned

Hampshire MEP Chris Huhne today appealed for the maximum support for a key campaign launched this week in nearly 70 countries to control the international trade in small arms.

The campaign is supported by Oxfam, Amnesty International and the International Acton Network on Small Arms.

'More lives are blighted by brigands with small arms - anything from revolvers to light machine guns - than any other arms. The bane of world development today is not war between countries, but civil wars within states fuelled by easy access to small arms' said Mr Huhne who has campaigned on this issue in the European Parliament.

Mr Huhne has visited an EU-supported project in war-torn Cambodia that collects in small arms and destroys them as part of the effort to pacify the country.

'Sixteen billion units of ammunition are produced each year, which is two for every person on our planet. Worldwide sales of arms fuel conflict, poverty, failed states and human rights abuses. They are the greatest single obstacle on the road to human progress for billions of our fellow humankind' said Mr Huhne.

'The five permanent members of the Security council - Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States - are responsible for 88 per cent of reported arms sales to the developing world and on one estimate our receipts from arm sales exceed our aid budget. This is a moral nonsense particularly as there would be little economic cost in controlling the trade'.

Mr Huhne welcomed the report 'Shattered Lives' from Oxfam and Amnesty International which points out that there were more than 40 armed conflicts last year aided by about 639 million small arms produced by more than 1135 companies in 98 countries. Eight million new weapons are produced every year, according to the report.

'The solution is an arms trade treaty like the Landmines treaty that would curb the trade and prevent arms exports where they were likely to be used to commit a violation of international human rights. And there must be a greater commitment on the part of industrial countries to ensure that end use certificates are not flouted by re-routing arms exports' said Mr Huhne.

'This is in our interests as well as those of the third world, as civil conflict is a major cause of refugees and of asylum seekers around the world. If we want to reduce the flow of refugees, arms control is probably the single greatest measure we could take to do so' said Mr Huhne.

'Everyone can make their voice heard by joining the campaign, which includes an innovative website that allows you to post up your picture to back up your signature on the petition. Visit www.controlarms.org for information on the campaign, and to add your picture to the million faces petition.

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