The Australian government approved a large volume of weapons sales to war-torn Mali in the same year the United Nations warned escalating violence was creating an “unprecedented humanitarian disaster” in the West African nation.
Save the Children Australia chief executive Paul Ronalds said arms exports to nations like Mali and Somalia must cease immediately. He said there was an urgent need for greater accountability and transparency on Australia’s arms sales.“We cannot let vested interests and profits take precedence over the lives of children,” Ronalds told the Guardian.“Australians would be rightly appalled to know we were potentially prolonging devastating wars in places like Yemen and Mali, and in doing so, increasing and prolonging the suffering of millions of children.”
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