Trading arms, bombing towns
This briefing paper looks at the lethal connection between the international arms trade and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and makes recommendations to governments and others on policy and practice.
What do the Arms Trade Treaty, an arms fair, explosive weapons, and the refugee crisis have in common? Reaching Critical Will highlights a straightforward connection between them all and explores the potential effects that stricter prohibitions against arms transfers and development of new commitments against the use of explosive weapons in populated weapons could have on reducing humanitarian harm and the drivers of displacement. It calls on governments to take responsibility for their actions, to prioritise human security over war profiteering, and to seek new, preventative solutions to violence and war.
Written by Ray Acheson • Published in September 2015 by Reaching Critical Will, a programme of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
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