On 25th February 2004, committed members of the European Parliament launched a Written Declaration calling on EU Member States to strengthen the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports and to express their support for the Arms Trade Treaty. The core aim of such strengthened arms control measures must be the prevention of export of weapons which would be used in violations of human rights and international humanitarian law
This important initiative in the European Parliament demonstrates that the aims of the Control Arms Campaign are increasingly being echoed among the EU institutions. For the Written Declaration to be adopted by the parliament as a whole, and to therefore send the desired strong message to EU governments, it must be signed by at least half, that is 315, of the Members of the European Parliament by the beginning of May 2004.
To encourage the Members of the European Parliament to sign this declaration, the EU-offices of Oxfam International, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms are launching a targeted letter-writing campaign that will be implemented over the coming weeks. The campaign will run until the beginning of May. Control Arms also encourages partner organisations and activists across the EU to urge their national Members of the European Parliament to sign the declaration.
As argued in the Declaration itself, there is an urgent need to strengthen EU arms export controls and complement these with an international Arms Trade Treaty - otherwise we will see little betterment in relation to the horrendous effects and human costs of the arms trade!
The text of the Written Declaration and the number of parliamentarians who already signed it can be found here.
A copy of the the Declaration text is also available here.
A copy of a suggested draft lobby letter is available on this page, for further information please contact europe@iansa.org |
