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Dear....................,

The poorly regulated trade in conventional arms and ammunition has enormous human costs. Every year, millions of people worldwide are affected by the direct and indirect consequences of the irresponsible arms trade. Thousands of people are killed, injured, raped, and forced to flee from their homes as a result of irresponsible arms transfers.

United Nations in currently crafting an Arms Trade Treaty. This would be the first global treaty to control the international arms trade. The last Preparatory Committee concluded on February 17th; the final negotiations will take place in July.

We believe that a strong and robust Arms Trade Treaty can reduce the terrible human toll which is a direct consequence of this poorly regulated trade. To be effective, an Arms Trade Treaty should establish that no international transfer of arms and ammunition will be authorized if there is a substantial risk that the weapons will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law, or will seriously impair poverty reduction or socio-economic development.

The scope of an effective Arms Trade Treaty should be comprehensive. It should include all international transfers of conventional weapons, in particular small arms and light weapons, ammunition and equipment used to deploy potentially lethal force in military and internal security operations.

As the quality of the treaty is crucial by its implementation, we request that our government will immediately implement and enforce domestic law, giving effect to the Arms Trade Treaty. Finally, we want the Arms Trade Treaty to include a comprehensive framework for international cooperation and support, in order to assist states to implement the Arms Trade Treaty.

A strong and robust Arms Trade Treaty will save lives. Therefore we call upon you as our Member of Parliament and Minister of Foreign Affairs to strongly support this negotiation process.

Sincerely,