by Ogebe Onazi, Nigeria
It is an honor to speak on behalf of IPPNW and the IANSA network today at the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty second Preparatory Committee Meeting.
Dr. Ogebe Onazi of Nigeria addresses the Arms Trade Treaty PrepCom at the UN
I am convinced that if an ATT is to make a meaningful impact on the ground it has to address the health and humanitarian impact of illicit and irresponsible arms transfers. I am one of the people who have to treat victims of gun violence, and heal the physical and mental wounds left by these weapons. When someone arrives in my emergency room, I don’t know if the gun or bullet is legal or illegal; all I know is that the person is bleeding and I try to save a life.
I am a Physician from Nigeria, a country situated in the global South. According to the World Health organization there is 1 doctor for every 2500 people in Nigeria and this compares to one doctor for every 370 people in the United States. This disparity demonstrates the severe lack of human resources to meet the health demands of the people in my country. Despite the heavy burden of disease including malaria, HIV and tuberculosis, resources for health care are chronically scarce; and every time resources are used to treat gun injuries, they are diverted from preventing communicable disease and malnutrition, maternal & child health care, and other critical public health services. Read more…
by Donald L. Mellman, MD
As a recent IPPNW member, I have had the honor to join the mission to the Arms Trade Treaty meeting at the UN.
IPPNW is the only physician-driven NGO at this UN Arms Trade Treaty meeting. Therefore, its representatives bring into perspective the unstated goal of the treaty: to improve the lives and health of all peoples of the world. Certainly there is the need for the presence and passion of the other representatives of the many other NGOs who meet in a variety of ways to bring some sanity to the insane situation of armed violence and its millions of victims. Yes, IPPNW is caught up in the politics among the NGOs, the politics between the NGOs and the many state delegates, and is an observer of the (often acrimonious) politics among the state delegates. But, it is the only NGO that, by definition, speaks the language of patient care and the publics’ health.
Our co-president, Bob Mtonga, alluded to the famous Virchow quote, “Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing but medicine on a large scale,” when he prepared remarks for the general NGO session. Interestingly, Bob is both a Zambian delegate to these proceedings and an IPPNW representative, the only NGO person so placed. He has the respect of all (> 50) the NGO members in attendance. Read more…
ATT chair’s draft foreshadows treaty elements
by Michael Schober, IPPNW-Austria
Thursday morning at the ATT PrepCom: The plenary, with delegates of all UN member states, is now discussing the newest version of the PrepCom chairman’s paper which was discussed for the past three days and which we hope will lead to an arms trade treaty in the future.
Just prior to the release of the paper, there was much anticipation. Would the statement and needs of their own country have been taken into consideration? What would be the further direction be in the negotiations? Would the ATT be strong and really contribute to more security, development and therefore health? In addition, the NGOs were anticipating the result of the efforts they made and lobbying they did in the last days.
After a short time studying the revised paper finally released, we could find the following:
The controversial issue of ammunition in the treaty was maintained;
The immediate statement of the US delegation ( which is against including ammunition due to difficulties in implementing it) was, that an ATT should regulate international arm transfers and can not and should not legislate on death and murder.
For us, a strong ATT would mean exactly this: Reducing death and murder!;
Further, the responsibility to execute the treaty was made stronger: “Should take into account” was replaced by “shall.” A success for IPPNW, which pushed with other NGOs for that language as well as such considerations as victim assistance.
The challenge in the further discussion will be how the positions of the states, which are aiming for a less universal and strong ATT — referring to the right of self defense and difficulties of implementation — will be taken into account.
Further plenaries will cast more light on this.
Onazi to ATT: “Violence is a preventable health problem”
Ogebe Onazi speaks at ATT PrepCom
Dr. Ogebe Onazi from IPPNW-Nigeria provided a riveting presentation on a doctor’s perspective on armed violence during the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) side event panel, “How an ATT Can Help Prevent Armed Violence,” on Wednesday, the third day of the second Preparatory Committee session.
A report of the same name, produced by IANSA and Amnesty International, was released at the event, which was attended by 120 state delegates and NGOs. The panel included experts in international human rights and other related issues. Dr. Onazi discussed the health impacts of gun violence as well as the public health approaches that can be used to tackle the demand side of violence. He emphasized that violence is a leading killer of those aged 15-44 worldwide, and that the World Health Organization has declared “Violence is …. an important health problem — and one that is largely preventable.”
Dr. Onazi addressed the economic repercussions of the arms trade and the diversion of resources from health care — resources that are needed to treat and rehabilitate victims of gun violence.
Despite the heavy burden of disease including malaria, HIV and tuberculosis, resources for health care are chronically scarce; and every time resources are used to treat gun injuries, they are diverted from preventing communicable disease and malnutrition, maternal & child health care, and other critical public health services. “The expertise of the medical community is an important resource to join with expert from other fields including experts in criminal justice, security and defense on the issue of gun violence.”
He closed with a call to action to States to “work with the medical community as a partner in your efforts to prevent death and injuries from gun violence.” For more information, go to www.controlarms.org.
Day two at the ATT: Dialogue with the US
IPPNW's Dr. Cathey Falvo (right) and PSR's Elina van Schaik meet Ambassador Mahley and other members of the US delegation.
March 1, 2011 — On day two of the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the Arms Trade Treaty, IPPNW members met with members of the US delegation, including Ambassador Donald Mahley, to discuss health issues related to the ATT and public health approaches to preventing violence.
We listened to their views on a range of complex subjects including import, export, and human rights considerations. We offered to be a resource on health issues and in educating on and documenting the human costs of arms violence, which the Ambassador endorsed as very important to helping countries make informed spending decisions.
The IPPNW delegation was joined today by Dr. Omolade Oladejo from Nigeria who arrived to add her voice to our activities. IPPNW members participated in a range of other meetings with NGOs and state delegates to the ATT PrepCom. Tomorrow Dr. Ogebe Onazi from Nigeria will provide a physician’s perspective on armed violence and development as part of a panel sponsored by IANSA, Amnesty International, and the Permanent Mission of Norway .
Vic Sidel, Cathey Falvo, and Don Mellman at ATT panel
IPPNW presented a side panel at the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the Arms Trade Treaty on February 28, entitled Control the Arms Trade: Improve Human and Environmental Health. The panel was co-sponsored by Zambia, and included physicians from that country, the United States, and Austria who spoke about the human health and environmental dimensions of the full cycle of the arms trade. The panelists addressed how a robust Arms Trade Treaty can help promote health and reduce environmental contamination.
The week-long ATT PrepCom convened on February 28 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The PrepCom is expected to recommend essential elements of a legally binding international agreement to regulate transfers of conventional arms, to be negotiated in July 2012. Read more…
Australian senator questions uranium policies; cites IPPNW resolution
Senator Scott Ludlam, a member of the Australian Parliament from the Green party, has been asking the government some pointed questions about the health and environmental effects of uranium mining.
Greens MP Sen. Scott Ludlam says the Australian government ignores the warnings of IPPNW about the health, human rights, and environmental impacts of uranium mining and processing at its peril.
Last November, after IPPNW’s Australian affiliate, MAPW, provided him with a copy of a resolution on uranium mining and processing adopted by the federation’s International Council at the IPPNW World Congress in September, Sen. Ludlam went to work. Citing assertions made by IPPNW that “‘uranium ore mining and the production of uranium oxide (yellowcake) are irresponsible and represent a grave threat to health and to the environment” and that “both processes involve an elementary violation of human rights and their use lead to an incalculable risk for world peace and an obstacle to nuclear disarmament,” he asked Nicola Roxon, the Minister for Health and Ageing whether the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) had looked into these hazards with regard to Australian uranium mining. Read more…
European health groups launch Medical Peace Work courses
European health groups have launched seven freely available, interactive online courses in violence prevention and peacebuilding. The aim of the courses is to educate health professionals about the impact of war and other forms of violence on the health of individuals and populations, and to show how they can make a positive and particular contribution to peace building, violence prevention and conflict transformation. The courses provide the participants with new insights about the special role and responsibility of healthcare professionals in peace work.
Bernard Lown, inventor of the defibrillator and founding Co-President of IPPNW said “The doctor cannot ignore the issues of peace and war. There is no greater pathogen than war. So why do you worry about tuberculosis, malaria, shistosomiasis, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, but when it comes to war you don’t want to talk about it.”
The courses, which will be promoted worldwide, were developed by 19 organizations from Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Turkey, and the UK. They are not only designed for health professionals and students who wish to do humanitarian or development work or who want to work with human rights or medical peace organizations; these courses are valuable for all health workers, no matter where they work and live. The course issues range from suicide and interpersonal violence prevention to the abolition of nuclear weapons.
According to Dr. Klaus Melf of the Health Department of the County Governor in Troms, Norway, “It is vital that doctors and other health professionals understand how people are affected – both physically and psychologically – by power abuse and war. Many health professionals want to do more than simply patch up the wounded. They want to get to grips with the underlying issues and do everything they can to prevent violence and achieve peace.”
To access the courses, which were developed with support from the European Commission, go to www.medicalpeacework.org.
IPPNW responds to ratification of New START
IPPNW’s co-presidents have sent the following letter to the presidents of the US and Russia, to mark the successful ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), under which each country will limit the number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons to 1,550, with additional reductions in deployed and non-deployed launchers to 800 in each country. The treaty was ratified by the Russian State Duma on January 25, 2011 , by the Federation Council of Russia on January 26, and by the US Senate on December 22, 2010. The New START will enter into force in February, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exchange ratification papers.
January 31, 2011
President Barack Obama
President Dmitri Medvedev
Dear Presidents Obama and Medvedev:
The ratification of the New START by the Russian Parliament this week and by the US Senate last month fulfills a pledge each of you made almost two years ago to lay the groundwork for a world without nuclear weapons. When you met in Moscow in March 2009, you spoke of this new round of US-Russia nuclear arms reductions as a “down payment” toward a nuclear-weapons-free world. While this down payment is modest in numerical terms, the New START, as its name suggests, is a promise of more to come. Read more…
It’s Still the Same Old Story—from Guns to Nukes
The discussion of the Tucson tragedy should be familiar, as we witness similar massacres in U.S. schools, shopping centers, and other public places played out periodically. Each time, the NRA and other gun apologists tell us that the easy accessibility of firearms, including assault weapons, had nothing to do with it. Indeed, they argue that the key to our safety is to obtain more guns.
But does the fact that nearly 100,000 Americans are shot with guns and nearly 10,000 Americans are killed with them each year really have no connection to the remarkable availability of guns in the United States? Read more…
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