Foreign Affairs committee  I confess I'm not a lawyer and an expert in the drafting of treaty negotiations, but I will say that the proposed solution of including preamble language sounds right to me, as long as it's clearly in the preamble and allows us to get beyond what we consider a misconception that this treaty is about domestic regulation, which it is not.

Foreign Affairs committee  Perhaps I can add that we hope it will cover all weapons and ammunition, components of weapon systems, and that it will be comprehensive. We hope the criteria will cover three key areas: it will take into account international human rights law, international humanitarian law regarding conflicts, and development; it should not increase poverty or corruption.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Bonjour, tout le monde. On behalf of the Canadian members of the Control Arms Coalition, first let me thank you for taking up this issue and for inviting us to appear as witnesses today. Oxfam works in 95 countries around the world. We've seen over the decades, particularly in the last 20 years, a marked increase in the number and the severity of armed conflicts and incidents of criminal violence.