Since years the African continent suffers from many ills including traffic of weapons that kills more today than malaria, famine and AIDS.
Since most of us are born, there is not a single day where we do not see, do not read, or don't hear about Africans killing one another . They even want us to believe that it is the very nature of the African to kill his neighbor. Because it is not uncommon to see in any emission which speaks about Africa, often young men showing off their "kalanichikovs" or their "AK47". Such reporting are often accompanied by comments explaining the folkloric character of this weapons. Yet none of its weapons is manufactured in the African continent, it is therefore urgent and fundamental that our generation cares to say "stop the spread of weapons in Africa".
In 2001 the United Nations adopted a Program of action on small arms . This program was designed to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects. In 2006 then in 2012, representatives of Governments, regional and international organizations and civil society are reviewed for negotiations on this Treaty.
After blocking of some countries driven by the lobbies of weapons, this conference has yet accomplished to great speeches without actual commitments or program put in place. Even if by adopting unanimously the Program of action in 2001, these States have undertaken to collect and destroy illegal weapons, to adopt and approve national legislation that would penalize the illicit trade in small arms, to regulate the activities of brokers, to put in place strict controls on the import and export, to take measures against those who violate these laws, and, to this end, to better coordinate international efforts...
More than ten years after, small arms still cause the death of half a million people per year worldwide.
In Africa, small arms are now directly or indirectly more deaths than malaria, AIDS and famine, according to experts. So we see that the full implementation of the Programme of action of 2001 or any other actions to stop the proliferation of weapons is an urgent priority and a long-term process that requires perseverance and obstinacy of our generation.
Illicit arms starb the development of African countries, exacerbate violence, allow the urban gangs to attack companies, pirates from attacking ships and the drug barons threaten the forces of order, destabilize the countries and impose their visions of the world and kill the innocent. Then the responsibility of the major arms-producing countries is clearly committed.
At the time where the countries around the world are to reduce the proliferation of weapons, African leaders want to transform the continent to a large garbage plant where any weapons simply prohibited can be found. It is therefore in the new generation, to mobilize strong to say no to the PROLIFERATION of weapons in Africa.
We therefore call upon all citizens of the continent and the African diaspora , whatever their sex, political opinion, religion or social origin to mobilize for this campaign. We invite all friends of Africa to join our mobilization. Finally, we ask artists, athletes, intellectuals, traders, business women and men and African politicians and their friends to join our mobilization. "