On the sidelines of the World Disarmament Week and with the participation of a UN expert

Maat Calls for Prioritizing Human Rights Through Arms Control

Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights held a two-session workshop titled "Role of Arms Control in Promoting Human Rights" on the sidelines of World Disarmament Week. The workshop highlighted the negative effects of arms proliferation on human rights and addressed the challenges that hinder the implementation of agreements and legal provisions aimed at preventing weapons from reaching human rights violators or regulating their use in conflicts.

During the workshop, Dr. Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito, Chair-Rapporteur of Working Group on Use of Mercenaries, confirmed that proliferation of weapons has made it easier for non-state groups to obtain more dangerous arms. She warned that this worsens the situation for human rights and security in conflict zones, calling for better control over these groups and stricter enforcement of international arms treaties.

Arms control expert Nick Behrouzi cited reports documenting hundreds of cases of sexual violence in Ethiopia, where rape has been used as a weapon of war, constituting a flagrant violation of international law. He added that Ethiopian soldiers often use firearms to coerce and rape victims, perpetuating cycles of trauma and fear.

Fadi Abi Allam, head of the Permanent Peace Movement, called on the international community to address regulatory gaps and ethical failures in the global arms trade, stressing the need to create stronger frameworks that prioritize disarmament and respect for human rights.

Elsa Jarkhedyan, co-investigator and arms control expert, pointed out that conflicts in the Middle East, especially in Palestine and Lebanon, clearly demonstrate how weapons fuel conflicts and lead to human rights violations. She referenced the enormous suffering caused by indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in densely populated civilian areas, where schools, hospitals, and homes in Gaza have been reduced to rubble, leaving civilians trapped with no safe place to escape.

Elsa Jarkhedian, co-investigator and arms control expert, noted that conflicts in the Middle East, particularly in Palestine and Lebanon, clearly demonstrate how weapons fuel conflicts and human rights violations, pointing to the enormous suffering caused by the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in densely populated civilian areas, where schools, hospitals and homes in Gaza have been reduced to rubble and civilians trapped with no safe place to escape.

Dudi Korina, Partnership Coordinator at Geneva Call in Ukraine, stated that the widespread use of illegal and indiscriminate weapons in Russian-Ukrainian war has caused immense suffering for civilians and violated their basic rights, particularly the right to life.

In this context, Marina Sabry, Director of International Mechanisms for the Protection of Human Rights Unit at Maat, warned that escalating use of weapons in conflicts such as those in Gaza, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Syria poses a serious threat to global stability. She emphasized that civilians are disproportionately affected by this violence, raising urgent concerns about the integrity of the international system.

Yousuf Syed Khan, an expert in international humanitarian law and disarmament, called for an expansion of UN investigative mechanisms to include economic crimes related to arms transfers. He suggested using open-source information to gather evidence of such crimes and transferring the results to local prosecutors under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Finally, Mohamed Mokhtar, Director of the International Humanitarian Law Unit at Maat, drew attention to vital link between arms control and human rights. He stressed that conflicts in areas such as Gaza and Lebanon are exacerbated by various factors, including involvement of mercenaries and private military companies, as well as the uncontrolled proliferation of weapons. Mokhtar expressed concern that media often neglects the high human cost of these issues.