Africa: Call for a small arms treaty

On this 55th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, threats of new terrorist attacks and the dangers of weapons of mass destruction dominate the headlines. But the real weapons of mass destruction go largely unnoticed by those of us who live far from conflict and war. Those weapons are the 639 million small arms in circulation, and at least 16 billion units of military ammunition produced every year -- enough to shoot every man, woman and child on the planet twice, said Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the 55th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Robinson called for the creation of a new treaty to control the global trade in small arms.