Civil society presents petition to the Secretary-General as arms trade talks continue
Listen /
Salil Shetty of Amnesty International
Civil society groups on Tuesday presented the UN Secretary-General with a petition from more than 600,000 people calling for a global arms trade treaty.
Negotiations for the treaty are currently underway at the United Nations in New York.
Salil Shetty, head of Amnesty International, is with the Control Arms Coalition. He says people worldwide have been campaigning for 20 years for the treaty.
"We cannot continue the current body bag approach, where thousands of lives are lost before the Security Council can intervene with an arms embargo. We need to prevent it. This, Secretary-General Ban, could be one of your important legacies. We hope that we will have a very successful treaty and you will continue to lead the process. All we say is let's put an end to arms for atrocities." (Duration: 22″)
Shetty says a strong Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) will help stop suffering, misery and poverty.
