The unregulated sale and transfer of weapons harms the poor and threatens peace and security around the world. That is what Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, right, the Holy See’s permanent observer at the United Nations, said to a committee preparing for the July U.N. Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty on Feb. 13. Archbishop Chullikatt said the Vatican believes the aims of the arms treaty should not be only regulating the sale of conventional weapons, but also “the disarming of the international illicit market.” The treaty should include small arms and light weapons, which are easy to access on the black market and harm hundreds of thousands of people each year. It should spell out the threats to human rights, humanitarian law and development posed by illegal weapons sales; reinforce international cooperation and assistance; include provisions for assisting victims of the illegal weapons trade; and be flexible enough to cover emerging weapons technologies.
Containing Arms Sales
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
The people of God see the bishop of Rome as a teacher, but they also unquestionably see him as a father.
Since the death of Pope Francis, lists of his possible successors have proliferated on social media and in newspapers. Should you trust them?
A Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, by Terrance Klein
In a pre-conclave meeting, an Italian cardinal, and backer of Cardinal Parolin as next pope, attacked Pope Francis for opening positions of responsibility in the church to men and women not in holy orders.