WAITING FOR THE SUN. WHEN EVERY MEETING CARRIES LOSS
18 March 2024 _ Un Ponte Per, together with dozens of civil society organisations united in the coordination 'No more favours for arms merchants', launch a mobilisation to ask Parliament not to worsen the authorisation and control mechanisms and the safeguards of transparency on arms exports provided by Law 185 of 1990.
On 21 February 2024, the Senate passed a government-initiated bill in the Chamber of Deputies cancelling the mechanisms of transparency and parliamentary control over the arms trade and exports and the banks that finance such operations. With an unusual haste worthy of a better cause and taking advantage of the distraction of the press and public opinion, the bill was approved first in committee and then in the Senate chamber, where all the amendments that attempted to mitigate the measure's most harmful effects were rejected. The text is now before the Chamber of Deputies: it will be examined by the joint Foreign and Defence Committees and is expected to reach the Chamber in May. Dozens of civil society organisations are calling on MPs to amend the bill to restore parliamentary control over arms exports and the banks that do business with such transactions.
The importance of law 185/90
This is a groundbreaking law that Parliament passed in 1990 after a major campaign to mobilise civil society, including for the first time non-economic criteria in the assessment of the authorisation of foreign sales of Italian arms. This approach was then taken up by both the EU Common Position on arms exports and the ATT (Arms Trade Treaty). Although over the years Law 185 - which provides for a ban on sending arms to countries in conflict and where there are serious violations of human rights - has not been able to stop exports of military systems with very negative impacts, there is no doubt that it has played a great role in transparency. Allowing Parliament and civil society to know the details of an often highly opaque market.
Now this possibility of transparency is endangered by decisions that want to make arms sales more and more liberalised, using false rhetoric: it is not true that there is a problem of excessive controls on Italian arms exports and it is not true that this amendment to Law 185/90 will favour greater security for Italy at a time of international crisis. On the contrary, facilitating the sale abroad of arms that will surely end up in the world's most conflict-ridden areas will increase global insecurity, and therefore that of us all, just to guarantee easy profit for a few. This amendment to Law 185/90 starts from afar because for years the military industry lobby and the research and pressure centres connected to it have been clamouring to be able to practically liberalise arms exports. Those who do business selling arms and military systems around the world are not pleased that there is transparency and control even from civil society, as well as alignment with principles that do not only take turnover into account. We are already well aware that the authorisations issued have not always been in line with the criteria of Law 185/90 and international treaties: if the new bill were to pass, the situation would worsen, particularly on the issue of the intertwining of finance and arms production.
"For Parliament to approve such a counter-reform is a real act of self-defeat, because it would wipe out those prerogatives of control and transparency that Law 185 of 1990 places precisely in the hands of the Chambers. The invasiveness of the arms lobby is a threat to our democracy that wants to keep the public opinion of our country in the dark about its death plans'. This was stated by Angelica Romano and Alfio Nicotra co-presidents of Un Ponte Per.
The petition
The adhering civil society organisations ask citizens and all interested organisations to sign the petition published on the website of the Italian Peace and Disarmament Network 'No more favours for arms dealers'.
Other mobilisations will also start in the coming days, including sending letters to parliamentarians, requesting parliamentary hearings and organising public meetings.
For more information:
Adhering to the mobilisation
Italian Peace Disarmament Network and all adhering organisations: Apuan Academy of Peace, ACLI, AGESCI, ALTROMERCATO, Local Democracy Embassy, Friends of the Palestinian Red Crescent, ANPI, ANSPS, AOI - Association for International Cooperation and Solidarity, Archivio Disarmo, ARCI, ARCI Bassa Val di Cecina, ARCI Servizio Civile aps, ARCS, Associazione Papa Giovanni XXIII, Association for Peace, AssopacePalestina, AUSER, Beati i costruttori di Pace, Casa per la pace di Modena, CDMPI - Centro di Documentazione del Manifesto Pacifista Internazionale, Centro Studi Difesa Civile, Centro Studi Sereno Regis, CGIL, CGIL Padova, CGIL Verona, CIPAX, CNCA, FCEI's Globalisation and Environment Commission (GLAM), Volterra Peace and Disarmament Committee, Conference of Missionary Institutes in Italy, Coordinamento Comasco per la Pace, Coordinamento pace in comune Milano, COSPE, Emmaus Italia, FIOM-Cgil, FOCSIV, Fondazione Angelo Frammartino, Fondazione Finanza Etica, Forum Trentino per la Pace e i diritti umani, Gruppo Abele, IPRI - CCP network, IPSIA, Lega per i diritti dei popoli, Legambiente, Libera, Link - coordinamento universitario, Link2007 cooperazione in rete, Lunaria, European Movement, International Movement for Reconciliation, Movimento Nonviolento, Nexus Emilia Romagna, Noi Siamo Chiesa, Opal Brescia, Pax Christi Italia, Percorsi di pace, Rete degli studenti medi, Rete della conoscenza, Scuola di Pace "Vincenzo Buccelletti" di Senigallia, Servas Italia, Tavola sarda della pace, U.S.Acli, UDS, UDU, Un Ponte Per, Ventiquattro marzo
