The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) urges its members to participate in the Day of Prayer for the Arms Trade Treaty tomorrow. The conference to negotiate the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) began on March 18. By March 27, it is expected that the conference will have a final draft of the treaty text, which will then need to be circulated to the nearly 200 countries that will consider whether to approve the treaty.

“Evangelicals are deeply engaged in missionary and humanitarian work around the world,” said Galen Carey, NAE Vice President for Government Relations. “We care about the people whose lives are upended by senseless violence, and we pray that they, like us, ‘may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness'” (1 Timothy 2:2).

Thousands of civilians around the globe are killed each year by weapons and ammunition that are sold, transferred by governments or diverted to unscrupulous regimes, criminals, illegal militias and terrorist groups. While the United States has some of the strongest laws in the world regulating the import and export of weapons, many countries have no laws or regulations at all.

An effective Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) would establish common binding standards that must be applied to assess international weapons transfers and would stem the flow of illegal weapons and ammunition to warlords, dictators and terrorists.

The NAE asks its members to pray that God will guide the decision process and that the treaty will contribute to peace and safety for all people, and especially for those who live in the most violent corners of the globe.