Jo Swinson: International arms treaty is worth fighting for

Published on 23/06/2012 00:00

AROUND 1,500 people needlessly die every day from armed violence.

There will be a meeting at the United Nations in New York next month, where countries from around the world will gather to negotiate the first-ever international arms trade treaty. Whileth ere are international treaties governing the sale of dinosaur bones, stamps and bananas, there is nothing regulating the sale of arms that can destroy human lives.

The UK has been leading the way in calling for a global arms trade agreement. The UK coalition government showed leadership at the start of the Arab Spring when we reviewed export licenses for the sale of arms to the countries involved, revoking those which raised concerns.

Countries have a right to defend themselves but not when arms sales are being used to kill, injure and torture innocent civilians.

Last week was Refugee Week, which also highlights the effects of conflict on where people live. The UN estimates that there are around 500,000 internally displaced people in Syria since the violence started with an estimated 55,000-150,000 refugees who have fled the country for their safety. Amnesty International estimates that 10,000 people have been killed since the conflict started, 700 of them children.

This senseless violence could have stopped a long time ago, but for Russia and China vetoing UN Security Council resolutions, putting profit from arms sales before people.

Other research by Amnesty has drawn attention to the impact of conflict on gender. Women and girls are often raped at gunpoint while away from home collecting firewood and water, or undertaking other daily tasks; they are also vulnerable in jail or refugee centres. At least 15,700 women and girls in Rwanda and 25,000 in Croatia and Bosnia were reported to have been raped at times of armed conflict; the actual figures may be much higher. An international arms trade treaty that is comprehensive in scope, ratified at national level and properly enforced would help reduce conflict, poverty, human rights abuses and displacement of people.

The UK coalition will go to the UN and argue for the toughest regulations possible.

• Jo Swinson MP is deputy leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats