Project Ploughshares, an ecumenical peace agency of the Canadian Council of Churches, is launching a campaign advocating the control of the sale of small arms and light weapons. The public awareness and education campaign is designed to inspire Canadians to call for greater governmental commitment to control small arms and deal with the underlying conditions of the weapons problem. "We're hoping that Canadians will see that these weapons need to be controlled and in places where they are already causing problems on the ground, that the government is making an effort to fix the problem," said Lynne Griffiths-Fulton, program associate at Project Ploughshares.
There are over 600 million small arms in circulation around the world – one for every 10 people on the planet, according to the Toronto-based agency. It is hoped that the campaign will elicit a reaction at the United Nations Small Arms Review Conference in July 2006. The Ploughshares website notes that a previous international program of action at the 2001 UN Conference on Small Arms is lagging due to insufficient funding and a lack of political will to make changes.
"In a way, this is more complicated than nuclear disarmament," said Stephen Allen, associate secretary of the church's Justice Ministries and chairman of the CCC's Committee on Justice and Peace. "Small arms cost $500 to make and they're available everywhere. And after wars end, people can buy them at the market for $50. They proliferate like measles."
said it's important to note that the campaign isn't about banning small weapons, but about developing and ensuring transparency and greater attention to detail regarding Canada's arms exports. "It's about strengthening Canada's policies and practices, and pushing the international community to strengthen their control of the sale of small weapons."
Canadians can write letters to the Prime Minister, sign the Million Faces petition and urge their congregations to draft and adopt a resolution supporting stricter control of small arms trade. Campaign resource materials have been developed for use by churches, individuals and community groups. To learn more, visit the Project Ploughshares website at:
www.ploughshares.ca/control/SALWPublic.
– AM with files from Project Ploughshares
