Campaigns
ARTillery uses art to inspire the world to make a stand against human rights abuses through Amnesty International campaigns. Amnesty International and ARTillery activists and artists share a vision of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. ARTillery invites activists and artists to use art as their artillery to create change.
In 2012 ARTillery is hosting rad arts events in your city, as part of Amnesty International's 100 days of action for the Arms Trade Treaty Campaign, to encourage world leaders to rally together for a strong, legally binding treaty to regulate the global trade of arms. July this year presents a historic opportunity, when world leaders will come together to decide on whether to agree to legally binding international standards regulating the trade of arms between countries.
Amnesty International is calling for a treaty that:
• Maintains the 'Golden Rule' of human rights at its core:States shall not authorise international transfers of conventional arms where there is a substantial risk the arms will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law.
• Has an all inclusive scope on types and trades of arms: An Arms Trade Treaty must cover all weapon types (small arms, light weapons, craft, systems ammunition), all trade, transfer and other transactions and services facilitating trade and transfer.
• Will be enforced and governments held to account:There must be robust national control, reporting and peer review mechanisms. Trade must be forbidden if it contravenes the Golden Rule and it must be consistent with States' legal obligations and other responsibilities.
Why do we need an Arms Trade Treaty?
The global trade in arms is currently irresponsible and poorly regulated – there is more international regulation for the trade of bananas! Every day, millions of people suffer from the direct and indirect consequences of the arms trade. Amnesty International list some sobering statistics:
• 1,500 people are killed every day as a result of conflict and armed violence
• 26 million people have been forced to flee their homes as a result of armed conflict
• 12 billion bullets are produced every year
• 74 per cent of the world's weapons are produced by six countries: USA, UK, France, Russia, Germany and China
• The majority of causalities from armed conflict are civilians.
Beyond killing, millions of people have to live under the constant threat of weapons which are also used to perpetrate thousands of human rights violations each year. Read more facts on the scale and impact of the arms trade at Amnesty International's website.
ARTillery 2012 from ARTillery's YouTube channel
To find out more about Amnesty International's other campaigns, and to take action online see www.amnesty.org.au
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