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Headlines : CorporationsThe Modern Successor to the Slave Trade
We must end impunity for governments who authorise the supply of weapons when they know there’s a great danger those weapons will be used for gross human rights abuses. Great strides are being made towards ending impunity for war criminals. It cannot be acceptable that their arms suppliers continue to escape punishment. No longer should the peace business be undermined by the arms business. I call on all governments to put the control of the international arms trade at the top of their agenda.
[Posted By ShiftShapers]Republished from The Independent UK
For many years, I’ve been involved in the peace business, doing what I can to help people overcome their differences. In doing so, I’ve also learnt a lot about the business of war: the arms trade. In my opinion it is the modern slave trade. It is an industry out of control: every day more than 1,000 people are killed by conventional weapons. The vast majority of those people are innocent men, women and children.
There have been international treaties to control the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons for decades. Yet, despite the mounting death toll, there is still no treaty governing sales of all conventional weapons from handguns to attack helicopters. As a result, weapons fall into the wrong hands all too easily, fuelling human rights abuses, prolonging wars and digging countries deeper into poverty.
This is allowed to continue because of the complicity of governments, especially rich countries’ governments, which turn a blind eye to the appalling human suffering associated with the proliferation of weapons.
Every year, small arms alone kill more people than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki put together. Many more people are injured, terrorised or driven from their homes by armed violence. Even…
Posted by ShiftShapers
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Desmond is so sweet. Wouldn’t it be nice if the weapons fell into the “wrong” hands by mistake?
You know… you amuse me Shifty… perhaps you should rewrite that lovely gun control/arms trade article and include the entire UN text as it stands… “gun trade for state actors, no guns for non state actors…”
I mean, until now I have enjoyed a lot of what you say, but sadly, you’re playing to the UN right now, and their track record isn’t exactly stellar. Why not ask Koffi and his bunch why they pulled the Belgian Paratroopers from Rwanda before the chop job started… the belgians are relatively tough MF’ers and would’ve helped stave off the disaster that occured… instead they and several other good units were pulled off that post. And the disarmed citizens, with no “small arms” were butchered by the “state actor” with machetes (they didn’t want to use small personal firearms either).
Belgians pulled out unilaterally. Canada stood it’s ground because Gen. Roméo Dallaire (UN chief observer) disobeyed Canada’s State Dept order to pull out, so to provide some “secure” enclaves for those who were being slaughtered. Then Canada policy makers sustained his commitment.
Dallaire, now retired, lives in Rwanda, where he is honored for his personal sacrifices and commitment to Rwanda. He openly called the Belgians cowards. Look up his account in the book “Shaking Hands with the Devil”.