Battle goes on for arms trade treaty that protects women
Julie Tomlin
WVoN co-editor
The failure of world leaders to draw up an international treaty on the multi-billion-dollar arms trade was a disappointment for campaigners demanding restrictions on the sale of arms that could be used for sexual violence..
The month-long arms trade treaty discussions had been a particular focus for a number of organisations including Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS), Oxfam and Amnesty International, which were seeking gender-based regulations governing the sale of arms.
During Sierra Leone’s civil war of 1991 to 2002 it has been estimated that 64,000 women, or close to 50 per cent of the entire female population suffered from sexual violence at gunpoint.
Weapon-aided rape has also occurred in the conflicts of the Darfur region, northern Uganda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and the former Yugoslavia.
In their report Putting Women’s Rights into the Arms Trade Treaty, authors Chitra Nagarajan of GAPS and Caroline Green of Oxfam argue that the Arms Trade Treaty must “explicitly recognise” the negative impact to date of the unregulated arms trade on women’s rights.
“It must ensure States take specific steps to prohibit an arms transfer if there is a substantial risk those arms will be used to perpetrate or facilitate acts of gender-based violence, by reflecting and prioritising this issue within risk assessments.
The month-long talks ended without a deal after the United States, then Russia and China, said that they needed more time before signing the treaty.
But despite disappointment, campaigners believe that “momentum is gathering for an international and legally-binding treaty” that will bring the arms trade “under control”.
Oxfam’s Head of Arms Control Anna Macdonald said:
“The majority of governments in the world have agreed that we need tough rules based around international human rights and humanitarian law to bring the arms trade under control.
“They’ve made a statement today confirming their intent to see a treaty realized. “It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’. We will continue campaigning to secure a treaty that will save lives.
“Some 50,000 people lost their lives through armed violence during the course of these month-long negotiations. The out-of-control arms trade must – and will – be stopped.”