|
|
|
|
|
|
Special Report |
LAST UPDATE May 31, 2006
|
|
| site design imagesparkle.com |
| May 18, 2006 |
Control Arms Million Face Campaign |
|
| |
 |
| Mike O'Brien, onboard from Catania to Tilbury, has been educating participants on the arms trade issue. |
Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide organization working to attain human rights for all people by promoting greater awareness of human rights issues and opposing specific human right abuses. Well known for its instrumental campaigns to release prisoners of conscience, Amnesty's other campaigns include ending violence against women, denouncing torture, and regulating the international arms trade. Because one of the greatest threats to human rights is the reckless trade of arms, Amnesty has partnered with Oxfam and IANSA to organize the Control Arms Million Face Campaign.
Guest Educator Mike O'Brien, a campaign organizer from Amnesty International, has been educating participants about the arms trade issue and leading workshops on campaign development strategies. Originally from Nigeria, Mike has worked for Amnesty International for the past thirteen years. He's passionate about the Control Arms Campaign because as a young boy he was a soldier for the Nigerian military and witnessed firsthand the impact of small arms on people's lives. |
site design imagesparkle.com |
 |
| With their faces, participants showed their opposition to the arms trade. |
Armed Conflict Spirals Out of Control
Currently, there are 639 million small arms through out the world, with 70% of them in the hands of civilians. That means that for every tenth person, there is one gun. With statistics like these it is easy to see that the irresponsible distribution of arms fuels, conflict, fear and suffering. It is estimated that over 400,000 people are killed every year by armed violence. Arms abuse does not only manifest in the unlawful killing of civilians but also in thousands of other violent acts. At gun point, police brutality increases. At gun point, domestic violence and the rape of women and children increases. With the proliferation of small arms, an estimated 300,000 children are working as child soldiers. The Control Arms Million Face Campaign is a call for all governments to take responsibility to end the suffering.
“We have clearly identified the problem. We are not just criticizing the situation but we are thinking of a solution,” said Mike. Tackling both the supply and demand of the arms, the long term goal of the Arms Control Campaign is to stop the flow of arms to abusive nations and decrease the amount of money being spent on defense. The main component of the Control Arms Campaign is the International Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). There are three main principles of the ATT. First, every single arms transfer must be authorized by a government, not by individuals. Second, the minimum criteria for authorization of arms trade must be met: i.e. transfers can not be made to states that have violated international laws specific to weapons or to countries likely to violate the UN Charter or human rights. The third principle of the ATT is that the transferring of weapons must be openly declared, to make the arms trade a transparent process. Currently, there are 46 states signed on to the ATT.
“The only thing we can do is to mobilize members of the public, like me and you. We must give ourselves a strong voice so that our governments will begin to listen to us,” said Mike. With a goal of mobilizing a million people to take action, the Million Face Campaign is asking individuals to show their opposition to the arms trade by submitting their photo. These photo petitions are pouring in from around the world, even from countries such as North Korea, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia. Massive support has also come from celebrities such as Sting and Michael Moore. |
| |
 |
| After partaking in the Million Face Campaign, participants received a “Control Arms” wrist band. |
Peace Boat participants wanted to know why photos of faces were being used as part of the campaign strategy. Mike replied, “The face is not anonymous. It is a strong statement. Here I am, I support this campaign with my face, my name, my country. This is me.” The Control Arms Campaign plans on exhibiting the photographs at the United Nations during the UN Review of Small Arms held in June of this year. With only a month left, the Million Face campaign has collected 972,000 faces of its one million goal. After Mike's lecture, participants lined up to take photos holding signs with the word 'arms' crossed out or showing their opposition to the arms. Mike plans to leave Peace Boat with an additional thousand photos to add to the campaign.
Resources:
Control Arms Campaign www.controlarms.org
Amnesty International www.amnesty.org
|
| |
|
|
|
