The World Council of Churches (WCC) is encouraging its members to help curb the unrestricted availability and proliferation of small arms and light weapons. These weapons, more than any others, are the chief means of inflicting violence and waging war in today's world. Compared to heavier weaponry, small arms and light weapons are cheap to produce, maintain and store. They are easy to transport and conceal. The international community has become increasingly concerned with the devastating effects of small arms and light weapons, especially the abundance of humanitarian crises and armed violence in urban areas. Small arms and light weapons infect our homes, our communities and our nations. They are part of a spiraling global culture of violence. Increasingly, the mass media and entertainment portray them as an unavoidable feature of our societies. People, especially children are led to accept violence inflicted by these weapons as a legitimate means of resolving conflict. The WCC believes something can be done about this problem and encourages churches and individual Christian committed to building a culture of peace to help end the proliferation of small arms. |
PO Box 2100 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland WCC Contact |
