CC to

a) Shri AK Anthony, Honourable Minister of Defence
b) Shri S.M. Krishna, Honourable Minister of External Affairs
c) Shri P Chidambaram, Honourable Minister of Home affairs.

More than 300,000 people are killed in armed conflict and 200,000 more in homicide & suicide, every year. In India alone, 12 people die every day due to armed violence i.e., more than 4000 people every year. These astounding figures of humanitarian destruction are a product of more than 640 million small arms and light weapons being circulated worldwide. Adding to this is the fact that developing nations continue to be the primary importers of arms.

Various studies have shown that for every $1 spent on development assistance, $10 is spent on the military budget. It is ironical that although much attention (by governments, media, and organizations) is given to the so-called weapons of mass destruction, it is the ordinary conventional weapons which are responsible for majority of casualties and thus pose an imminent threat to mankinds existence. Gun violence has become such a menace that its consequences can be termed as an epidemic and the root problem behind this is the non-regulation of the arms industry. There are more regulations in music and film industry than in the arms industry. This has resulted in 60\% of worlds firearms being in the possession of private individuals today. The illicit transfer of arms is also responsible for drug trafficking, corruption and other organized crimes that further pose a threat to national security.

Many international efforts to reduce arms spending and curbing of illicit trafficking have proved to be insufficient and ineffective. Recognizing the lack of international mechanism to regulate transfer of conventional weapons, the United Nations has begun working on a Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) after a historic vote in General Assembly which saw 153 governments supporting it on 6 December, 2006. India however abstained from voting in favour of the treaty.(please see www.controlarms.org for furthur information)

The objective of the Arms Trade Treaty is to ensure responsible transfers of weapons globally in order to prevent any serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the form of atrocities and genocides. On the whole it aims at sustainable development and prevention of conflict.

TAKE ACTION: SIGN THE E- PETITION

Control Arms Foundation of India (CAFI) and other organizations are working together to reduce armed violence by making the global Arms Trade Treaty a reality. All over India, more than 40,000 citizens and 40 MPs have given their support to the ATT by signing on the petition submitted to the United Nations.

Have you signed the petition yet? If not, sign it now. We urge the government of India to take an active lead in the United Nations process for a Global Arms Trade Treaty and to:

1) Stop arms transfer that will be used for serious violation of human rights or international humanitarian law.
2) Maintain a balance between expenditure on defense and development.
3) Assist in the proper rehabilitation of gun survivors and families affected by gun violence.