News
For five years since the first UN global conference on small arms in 2001, hopes around the world were that this year's follow-up conference, which concluded on 7 July, would find new ways to contain the intercontinental epidemic of guns and gun violence.
Gun deaths and injuries are the deadliest form of daily violence in the world and there is broad supportfrom over 100 governments and more than 700 NGOsfor stronger joint action to address the problem. Hopes are especially high in nations, and churches, affected by armed conflict or armed violence.
But in the end it was minority rule at the UN. A handful of states blocked progress on dozens of proposals at the conference to review the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, held in New York, 26 June-7 July, 2006. The meeting ended without agreement, to the disappointment of the UN leadership and many of the participants.
"I attended this meeting in the hope that governments of the world would work together to tackle these problems," said Florella Hazeley of the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone and a member of the WCC-led Ecumenical Network on Small Arms. "They have failed on all counts. How can I go home and explain this?"
Mozambican Anglican Bishop and WCC representative Dinis Sengulane, addressing the conference earlier, called small arms control "a process of committing ourselves to be accountable to one another in the preservation of human life." He urged delegates to ensure that the UN "programme of action on small arms will be anchored in respect for human rights, international law, and human security."
Sengulane also spoke at a rally of international civil society in New York's Broadway theatre district. "I am wearing a cross made of pieces of guns to show that we can transform this industry stained with blood into an industry of promoting human dignityin the biblical sense of turning swords in to ploughshares," he said. The event was held to celebrate the one million people from 160 countries who sent their photos as a visual petition to the UN Small Arms conference.
However, when the conference debated curbs on arms shipments that might be used in human rights violations, a few states blocked the 115 other governments. Measures to strengthen national gun laws, to acknowledge the impact of small arms on development, and to hold additional UN follow-up meetings were also blocked, principally by the US government.
"How can the international community meet critical challenges with a decision-making process like this? Even with months of preparation by states and NGOs, the majority could not prevail against those governments who were apparently unable to strike a balance between their own agendas and the common good," said Jonathan Frerichs, the WCC executive responsible for disarmament issues.
Nevertheless, there are promising local, national and regional small arms initiatives, many involving churches, Frerichs noted. "The WCC and ecumenical partners will continue to give priority to the need to control small arms and reduce related deaths, injuries, suffering and loss," he said. Governments committed to providing international leadership will now look to other UN venues to address the problem.
Related WCC links:
- WCC work on peacebuilding and disarmament
- Decade to Overcome Violence
Related external links:
(WCC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites)
- UN Small Arms Review Conference 2006
- International Action Network on Small Arms
- Control Arms campaign