The Call for Tough Arms Control: Voices from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Overview

The war in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has cost millions of lives. Hundreds of thousands of people have been shot dead. Millions have died from the indirect consequences of war. What the figures do not reveal is the personal suffering of individual people, families, and villages. That is why in November 2005 the Control Arms campaign interviewed some of those who have suffered. The proliferation of conventional arms is too severe to be ignored any longer. Arms transfers still fuel atrocities in the DRC and many other countries. Responsible arms exporters and arms-affected states must not be held back by the few states that want to impede progress. In 2006, they must begin negotiations to agree an Arms Trade Treaty.