Amnesty urges action on small arms

AMNESTY International has urged the government to use its presidency of the European Union to stamp out the widespread proliferation of small arms which kill one person around the world every minute.

Labelling small arms as “the world’s real weapons of mass destruction”, Amnesty criticised the Government’s failure to introduce legal barriers to prevent the brokering of arms deals on Irish soil. As a result, it said such deals have contributed to the death of civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere.

Amnesty yesterday launched a hard-hitting campaign to promote the inclusion of human rights during Ireland’s EU presidency. In a report entitled ‘Human Rights Begin at Home’ the organisation makes recommendations to the Government in relation to key areas it seeks progress on during the Presidency.