THE MODERN SUCCESSOR TO THE SLAVE TRADE
By Desmond Tutu
The Independent
September 13, 2006

http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article1523112.ece

For many years, I've been involved in the peace business, doing what I can
to help people overcome their differences. In doing so, I've also learnt a
lot about the business of war: the arms trade. In my opinion it is the
modern slave trade. It is an industry out of control: every day more than
1,000 people are killed by conventional weapons. The vast majority of those
people are innocent men, women and children.

There have been international treaties to control the spread of nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons for decades. Yet, despite the mounting death
toll, there is still no treaty governing sales of all conventional weapons
from handguns to attack helicopters. As a result, weapons fall into the
wrong hands all too easily, fuelling human rights abuses, prolonging wars
and digging countries deeper into poverty.

This is allowed to continue because of the complicity of governments,
especially rich countries' governments, which turn a blind eye to the
appalling human suffering associated with the proliferation of weapons.

Every year, small arms alone kill more people than the atomic bombs dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki put together. Many more people are injured,
terrorised or driven from their homes by armed violence. Even as you read
this, one of these human tragedies is unfolding somewhere on the planet.

Take the Democratic Republic of Congo, where armed violence recently flared
up again, and millions have died during almost a decade of conflict. Despite
a UN arms embargo against armed groups in the country, weapons have
continued to flood in from all over the world.

Arms found during weapons collections include those made in Germany, France,
Israel, USA and Russia. The only common denominator is that nearly all these
weapons were manufactured outside Africa. Five rich countries manufacture
the vast majority of the world's weapons. In 2005, Russia, the United
States, France, Germany and the UK accounted for an estimated 82 per cent of
the global arms market. And it's big business: the amount rich countries
spend on fighting HIV/Aids every year represents just 18 days' global
spending on arms.

But while the profits flow back to the developed world, the effects of the
arms trade are predominantly felt in developing countries. More than
two-thirds of the value of all arms are sold to Africa, Asia, the Middle
East and Latin America.

In addition to the deaths, injuries and rapes perpetrated with these
weapons, the cost of conflict goes deeper still, destroying health and
education systems.

For example, in northern Uganda, which has been devastated by 20 years of
armed conflict, it has been estimated that 250,000 children do not attend
school. The war in northern Uganda, which may be finally coming to an end,
has been fuelled by supplies of foreign-made weapons. And, as with so many
wars, the heaviest toll has been on the region's children. Children under
five are always the most vulnerable to disease, and in a war zone adequate
medical care is often not available.

The world could eradicate poverty in a few generations were only a fraction
of the expenditure on the war business to be spent on peace. An average of
$22bn is spent on arms by countries in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America
and Africa every year, according to estimates for the US Congress. This sum
would have enabled those countries to put every child in school and to
reduce child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, fulfilling two of the
Millennium Development Goals.

This year, the world has the chance to finally say no to the continuing
scandal of the unregulated weapons trade. In October, governments will vote
on a resolution at the UN General Assembly to start working towards an Arms
Trade Treaty. That Treaty would be based on a simple principle: no weapons
for violations of international law. In other words, a ban on selling
weapons if there is a clear risk they will be used to abuse human rights or
fuel conflict. The UN resolution has been put forward by the governments of
Australia, Argentina, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan, Kenya, and the UK. These
governments believe the idea of an Arms Trade Treaty is one whose time has
come.

I agree. We must end impunity for governments who authorise the supply of
weapons when they know there's a great danger those weapons will be used for
gross human rights abuses. Great strides are being made towards ending
impunity for war criminals. It cannot be acceptable that their arms
suppliers continue to escape punishment. No longer should the peace business
be undermined by the arms business. I call on all governments to put the
control of the international arms trade at the top of their agenda.