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The problem Small arms and light weapons are causing heavy casualties around the world. They are responsible for the deaths of more than three million people since 1990; up to 90% of them civilians. In addition to the loss of human life and the destruction of physical and social infrastructure they cause, the widespread availability of light weapons also serves to: heighten tensions and insecurities by making recourse to arms more likely; intensify and prolong conflict through their virtually limitless supply; undermine conflict resolution and development efforts by remaining in societies long after hostilities have ceased. At a local level, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons is serving to fuel crime and foster a culture of violence. Moreover, illicit trade in light weapons is often associated with other criminal activities, such as terrorism, money laundering and the trafficking of drugs and other black-market commodities.
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stressed "it is clear that the efforts of the churches must be directed towards overcoming the institutions of war and that breaking the flow of arms is a key element in such a process" (CCIA Background
Information -The Arms Trade Today 1993/1).
The Programme to Overcome Violence (POV), established in 1994, and particularly its Peace to the City campaign has likewise highlighted the relationship between small arms and violence. In 1997, after UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali called for the international community to direct its attention to "the weapons, most of them light weapons, that are actually killing people in the hundreds of thousands," the WCC central committee called for the POV to address the issue by giving "special attention to the concern for microdisarmament". As a result, a consultation on the excessive accumulation and unlawful use of small arms was convened in Rio de Janeiro, May 1998. The final report of the consultation, Small Arms: Big Impact, concludes that "there is indeed a major role for the churches to play in small arms awareness and in small arms control and reduction at all levels of society, from the local to the international". More recent WCC activities have included supporting the Mali Moratorium on Light Weapons in West Africa, developing the resource The Landmines Campaign Still Needs the Churches and helping to found the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA).
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"Transforming Guns into Hoes" from the Christian Council of Mozambique West African moratorium on small arms import, export and manufacturing!
[Source: World Council of Churches Microdisarmament - 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland.] Back to Newsletter Back to World Church Index
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