Home | UNICEF in Action | Highlights | Information Resources | Donations, Greeting Cards & Gifts | Press Centre | Voices of Youth | About UNICEF |
The UN takes aim at small armsTuesday, 20 July 1999: Small arms and light weapons killed three million people over the last decade and inflicted more lethal damage than missiles, tanks and mortars, UNICEF and the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs stated today. No fewer than eight of every ten people killed were children and women.As part of their advocacy campaign against the uncontrolled spread of small arms, UNICEF and the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs have produced an exhibit entitled "Taking Aim at Small Arms: Defending Child Rights". The exhibit opened today in the United Nations General Assembly Lobby at 5:30 p.m. Michael Douglas, UN Messenger of Peace, joined a number of United Nations officials and dignitaries in the opening ceremony. The exhibit has been sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Andorra to the United Nations. Jayantha Dhanapala, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, stated: "The United Nations is determined to combat the small arms plague, which affects the daily lives of millions of people and consumes not only a great part of the international community's resources, but also puts at risk its most important investment in the future - its children". The small arms exhibit consists of informative text panels, photographs, posters, 3-D cut-outs, children's drawings, icons, interactives and video presentations which document the scourge of small arms and light weapons, indicate their worldwide prevalence and reveal the toll they take on human lives - especially children. Some of the issues explored in the exhibit are child soldiers, the arms trade, demobilisation, disarmament and post-conflict peace-building. The exhibit also highlights the positive actions undertaken internationally to promote further actions by both governments and the general public in eliminating the trade in small arms. "The spread of small arms creates a serious global problem and requires an equally urgent response because the lives and futures of millions of children are at stake," UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said. "These weapons have probably extinguished more young lives than they have protected." Ms. Bellamy said that the international spread of inexpensive small arms has made it easier to turn young children into soldiers. "During the past decade, some 300,000 children participated in over 30 conflicts world-wide. Such participation would have been impossible without access to small arms, which children can easily strip and reassemble." In 1994, close to 300 companies in 52 countries were manufacturing small arms and light weapons. The European Union and the US together account for 80 per cent of the four billion dollar a year global arms trade. At least 22 developing countries are also producing small arms and 16 of them are now established as exporters. While a big portion of the small weapons trade takes place between governments, it is estimated that illegal traffic accounts for 55 per cent of the total trade. Mr. Dhanapala said that with so many lethal weapons in circulation, the risk of new conflicts will escalate. Among the casualties of this global acquiescence in violence, Ms. Bellamy added, will be the rights of children to live and play and lead a normal life. The UN fully supports the establishment of international and regional codes of conduct to regulate the legal and illicit trade in light and heavy weapons and welcomes the recently-launched international NGO campaign against small arms. |
| Please email media@unicef.org with comments or requests for more information, quoting CF/DOC/PR/1999/26. |
Home| UNICEF in Action | Highlights | Information Resources | Donations, Greeting Cards & Gifts | Press Centre | Voices of Youth | About UNICEF |