UN urged to end humanitarian arms trade treaty

Dr. Ogebe Onazi,
A Nigerian Physician

UN urged to end humanitarian arms trade treaty

A Nigerian Physician and Board Member of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Dr. Ogebe Onazi, has appealed to member states of the UN to conclude an effective humanitarian-focused Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

Onazi made the appeal when he presented the “Medical Alert for a Strong ATT’’ to  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Thursday.

Objective
Onazi, a young physician from Jos, the capital of Plateau State in northern Nigeria, noted that such a treaty would save lives and improve human health worldwide.

 “We doctors and nurses are on the front lines everyday treating the broken bodies shattered by weapons. We are the ones who sign the death certificates and comfort the grieving families. We are here to appeal to the common humanity of our leaders to take a bold step forward by bringing an end to the unregulated international weapons trade,’’ Onazi said.

He said that the signatories to the Medical Alert for a Strong ATT are doctors, nurses, and other medical workers from 58 countries in the world.

According to him, they represent millions of other health professionals who each day pledged to “do no harm” and work to promote a healthier world, which IPPNW believes the ATT will help accomplish.

NAN/Adekusibe/Cokey