Arms Reduction Coalition (ARC) Endorsement Form

ARC Resolution , Membership Form

Support the Arms Reduction Coalition (ARC)

We; Action For UN Renewal; are launching an international campaign calling for the United Nations (UN) to agree a legally binding Instrument requiring States to reduce the amount of resources spent on arms by a set percentage per year. This is based on Article 26 of the UN Charter which states "In order to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources, the Security Council shall be responsible for formulating, with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee referred to in Article 47, plans to be submitted to the Members of the United Nations for the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments"

The campaign for arms reduction under Article 26 of the UN Charter will be formally launched at a meeting organized by Action for UN Renewal in the Autumn of 2001. The new campaign, which is open to individuals and organisations, will be called the Arms Reduction Coalition (ARC). Action For UN Renewal invites you to join with us in this important initiative.

ARC is concerned that the world is awash with weapons. Around 500 million small arms and 30,000 weapons of mass destruction (i.e. Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) are threatening international peace and security, and hindering the work of many Non-Governmental Organisations and UN departments. These weapons cause death and destruction. 90% of all war casualties are civilians. They are produced at the expense of the world’s peoples. Some 30% of the loans made to the highly indebted nations is spent on arms. ARC is seeking a world wide gradual, long term reduction in the resources spent on weapons; with a transfer of those resources to humanitarian, social and environmental uses. The value of the world's arms trade is currently about $800 bn (Billion Dollars) per year. A one percent year on year reduction on the previous year’s expenditure would make $8bn available. Over ten years this would total $73 bn available for the improvement of humankind and preservation of our common home - Earth. During the same ten years $7,573 bn would still have been spent on things to kill people.

Action for UN Renewal (ACT-UN) is a network of organisations and individuals campaigning for a more effective United Nations. We co-operate with other UN-related NGOs, in particular the United Nations Association, and our primary role is to monitor and enhance the United Kingdom’s contribution to the renewal and reform of the United Nations System. For more details visit the Campaigns section of Action For UN Renewal’s web site at : www.action-for-un-renewal.org.uk.

Attached please find the ARC resolution, endorsement and membership form. Please return with your membership subscription and a donation (if possible) to the address above. We look forward to receiving your endorsement and working with you to achieve a successful campaign and a more just world.

For further information, please contact:

Karl Miller Secretary  Email: actun@btinternet.com , Tel: ++44 (0) 20 8241 2483

Vijay Mehta Vice Chair  Email: vijay@anglosphere.com, Tel: ++44 (0) 20 7702 7633

A Note for International / Non - United Kingdom Individuals and Organisations

As this ARC campaign will require agreement by member states of the United Nations we hope that similar ARC campaigns will be set up in many of the states of the UN. Please inform us if you wish to be put in touch with other organisations in your country that support ARC and are interested in setting up a national Arms Reduction Coalition.

Arms Reduction Coalition (ARC) Resolution

The Arms Reduction Coalition (ARC)

Concerned by the obstacles, threats and difficulties that the large amounts of arms in circulation pose to the maintenance of peace and security and to Non-Governmental Organisations and UN departments in carrying out their work;

Concerned by the disproportionately large amount of the world’s human and economic resources being expended on arms;

Recalling that Article 26 of the United Nations (UN) Charter calls for "the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources";

Calls upon the United Nations General assembly, to agree, and for all signatory States of The United Nations to ratify, a legally binding instrument:

a) for reducing the diversion for armaments of their State’s human and economic resources by between one and five percent per year;

b) to establish and maintain systems that enable annual independent verification and auditing of their States compliance;

c) to establish a United Nations mechanism to facilitate implementation; dealing with such matters as non-compliance, concessions, reporting and auditing standards, and the publication of targets and achievements annually;

d) that specifies how amounts diverted from armaments are to be used on State and UN programmes such as poverty reduction, sustainable development, conflict prevention, peaceful resolution of conflict, protecting the vulnerable, maintaining the environment; and effective and efficient implementation of the legally binding Instrument;

e) that gives full opportunities to non-governmental organizations and other non state actors to make their contributions in implementation, compliance and allocation of resources;

f) that requires review and re-commitment by the States to the legally binding Instrument after a period of between 10 and 25 years.

========= Complete, photo copy or Tear off and return to address below ==========

Please return to:  Treasurer, Arms Reduction Coalition,
PO BOX 42567, London, E1 2WP, United Kingdom

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