Small arms kill one person every minute. I believe this is neither inevitable nor acceptable. So today I am calling on the world to take action to stop weapons getting into the wrong hands and to prevent thousands of brutal, unnecessary and unjust deaths.There is an opportunity - for the first time - for a global deal to control the movement of small arms, such as AK47s and anti-aircraft rocket launchers, as well as heavier weapons like battle tanks. Next year, the United Nations will examine the case for an arms trade treaty. And right now, we have the chance to shape that treaty, with the potential to reduce armed violence in Africa, in Asia and in every continent.
There can be few more urgent causes. Each year, about 45 million people are affected by war. Three hundred thousand people die looking down the barrel of a gun - and 200,000 of these are killed in countries ostensibly at peace. And arms proliferation thwarts peacekeeping efforts, can make humanitarian work almost impossible and tears both countries and families apart.
I have talked face to face with former child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, snatched from their school desks and forced to work as rebels, checking people are dead after skirmishes by hacking at their limbs with machetes. I have met women in Darfur who were raped by militias while their husbands were murdered. Hundreds of thousands of weapons have poured into these countries, in the process making the streets of neighbouring countries more dangerous. I refuse to accept that the world cannot take action to prevent these atrocities.
Despite the enormous progress we have seen over the past decade, it is clear that the UN and all its members must now do more. We must show that multilateral solutions work.
The problem is that the global arms trade is entirely free of international regulation. In a world in which the flow of consumer goods is governed by a plethora of international conventions and regulations, deadly weapons have an uncanny knack of slipping through the net. We rely on imperfect and contradictory national laws to regulate them, and these laws create loopholes that are expertly exploited by traffickers and brokers.
As a result, weapons flood into conflict zones where they are used to perpetrate misery and suffering. And this violence doesn't just stop development, it reverses it. Invariably, it is the poor who suffer most.
Even a couple of years ago, the idea of an arms trade treaty seemed wildly idealistic. But last December, 153 states voted at the UN in favour of conducting negotiations on just such a treaty. It would not ban conventional arms or stop countries defending themselves, but it would close loopholes, shut down unscrupulous arms dealers and keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers. We have to make this process work.
If we are to do so, all countries must have an equal say in shaping the treaty. We need a system created for all, by all. So far, 79 countries of the 192 in the UN have contributed to the process. Such an overwhelming response is unprecedented, but only 13 of these states are in Africa. There is still time for African countries to be involved and for African voices to be heard in this debate.
So today I am calling on leaders across the world to prioritise this treaty now. And I am calling on civil society and citizens in every country to support global action. We must not waste this opportunity. Millions of people whose lives are destroyed by armed violence every year are depending on us.
Hilary Benn, secretary of state for international development.