EURO MP JOINS 'MILLION FACES' FIGHTING GLOBAL ARMS TRADE

4.41.29pm GMT Thu 23rd Mar 2006

Liz Lynne, West Midlands Liberal Democrats MEP today added her name - and her face - to a campaign calling for an international arms trade treaty.

The Million Faces Campaign is a photographic petition launched to raise awareness of the size and scale of the global arms trade. The Control Arms Campaign, who are organising the petition, hope to collect at least a million signatures ahead of a landmark UN conference on small arms controls this June.

There are around 639 million small arms and light weapons in the world today, with a further eight million being produced every year.

In November 2005, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on member states to support an arms trade treaty, and urging that the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports become legally binding.

The UK Government has pledged to support an international treaty. However the UK remains a major player in the global arms trade, and according to the Institute for Strategic Studies, an independent research organisation, is the fourth biggest arms exporter in the world.

Speaking in Brussels today, Liz Lynne said "Every year, roughly half a million men, women and children around the world are killed by armed violence. That's one person a minute."

"An out-of-control arms trade is fuelling poverty, conflict and human rights abuses around the world. The UN conference this summer is a vital opportunity not only to find solutions to the ready availability of weapons, but also, crucially, how to implement these solutions."

"The Million Faces Campaign shows the depth of popular opposition to the arms trade. Now governments and the United Nations must listen and take action."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The Institute for Strategic Studies, an independent research organisation, said the UK was the world's fourth biggest arms exporter in 2004. Government figures estimated the value of UK arms exports in 2004 at £1.4bn. However this figure does not include aerospace training and consultancy, valued at £3.3bn in 2003 by the Ministry of Defence.

2. To add your name and picture to the Million Faces Campaign, go to http://www.controlarms.org/act_now/.

For further information, comment or to book an interview, please telephone Liz Lynne on 003222845521(Brussels) or 077644 52725 (mobile) or the Press Officer in Stratford-Upon-Avon on 01789 262785.