A symbolic football match was held at the Jawalakhel Football Grounds, Lalitpur on the 27th of June 2008 among the youth members of Amnesty International Nepal.
The football match was organized with the objective of generating awareness especially among the youths about the Control Arms Campaign and the Arms Trade Treaty Parliamentarian Declaration Action launched by Amnesty International globally.
Members of the Everest Youth Network and Kathmandu Youth Network faced their counterparts from the Miteri Youth Network, Kathmandu and the Bhaktapur Youth Network in the friendly.
The match was held in presence of former Nepali national footballer and current Referee Instructor, Sriram Ranjitkar, who was the Chief Guest for the program.
The participating team players wore jersey in yellow and black with slogans calling for an end to the abuse of small arms.
Members of various AI, Nepal Groups in the Valley, the general public and other enthusiasts watched the football match organized by AI Nepal Section and hosted by AI Nepal Group-3, Kathmandu. AI members on the occasion also carried flags and banners calling for support to control the misuse of small arms.
Earlier, Bhola Bhattarai, Program Officer, AI Nepal briefed the participating youths about the Control Arms Campaign and pointed out their significant role in promoting the Campaign and its objectives.
Chief Guest, Mr Ranjitkar gave away trophy to the winning team and letters of appreciation to the youths who took part in the football match.
A similar symbolic match was also held in Janakpur on the same day between local journalists and human rights defenders. Similarly, another match was held in Ithari among the youth network members of Dharan, Ithari, Duhabi and Inaruwa.
As part of a two-week long promotion program, AI Nepal is organizing similar events in eight different locations across the country. Altogether 23 Youth Networks having an average 50 members each are the focus of the program.
This is one among the many activities that AI Nepal has been carrying in promoting the Arms Control Campaign that began in 2003.
In 2007, AI Nepal collected commitments from 57 Members of Parliament in Nepal on the Parliamentary Declaration. It may be noted that AI Nepal is committed to have the signatures of more than 100 Nepali parliamentarians on the Declaration.
The Parliamentarians’ Declaration calls on all governments to move quickly towards the negotiation of a tough Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) that will prevent irresponsible arms transfers and hold governments to their existing obligations.