Meet Malak, a 5-year-old girl from Syria.
In December 2015 as little Malak was at home, playing with her brother and sisters, her house was bombed in an air strike.The building shook with a frightening boom as shards of metal shot through the air.
One of Malak's legs was fractured, the other blown off. Her brother was blinded and severely burned; her 8-month-old sister died in hospital. Months on from the day their lives were turned upside down, little Malak is making remarkable progress.
Nevertheless, the fact is every year tens of thousands of civilians, including children like Malak, are killed and injured by the use of explosive weapons* in populated areas like towns and cities. In Syria alone, more than 2 million children are at risk, living in fear of bombing attacks and unexploded weapons left behind like deadly buried treasure.
The use of explosive weapons in populated areas kills civilians and causes suffering and serious injuries, permanent disabilities, and psychological trauma. It displaces people from their homes and destroys vital infrastructures such as schools and hospitals.
Urgent action is needed to protect innocent civilians. It is high time the UK led the way to end this barbaric practice. Sign the petition to call on the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, to condemn the indiscriminate bombing of civilians.
*Explosive weapons include aerial bombs, rockets, mortars, shells, landmines, cluster bombs and improvised explosive devices.
To Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson,
I call on the UK and all states worldwide to:
- Publicly commit to ending the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas and take the lead in influencing other states to do the same
- Fully implement the treaties banning landmines and cluster munitions without delay and promote them to non-signatory states
- Contribute funds towards assisting the victims, clearing weapons in affected zones, and preventing further injuries and deaths.
Stop bombing civilians now!
