arms control

The world spent yearly an estimated $112 billion on arms imports between 2018-2022, even as 9,000 people die each day from hunger driven primarily by conflict. The top five-arms exporters – the USA, Russia, France, China and Germany - which account for over three-quarters of the global arms trade, together sold an estimated $85 billion worth of arms yearly.  

Other members of the G20 have exported more than US$17bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since it became involved in the conflict in Yemen in 2015 but have given only a third of that amount in aid to people caught in the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, Oxfam said today.

The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize goes to the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for its outstanding contribution to efforts in reducing the threat of nuclear war. 

A British High Court decision that UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia can continue gives ministers free reign to sell arms to countries even where there is clear evidence they are breaching international humanitarian law. 

This report provides evidence about the human costs of uncontrolled arms: injuries and fatalities, internally displaced people and refugees, gender-based violence, and erosion of social cohesion and communal trust.

The sheer scale of the crisis in Syria demands specific and increased commitments from the international community to help alleviate the suffering.

EU Foreign Ministers failed last night to extend the EU arms embarg

Transfer of weapons to Syria likely to spell further disaster for civilians caught in the crossfire, and fuel deadly arms race

Anna Macdonald, Oxfam’s Head of Arms Control, said:

In response to the release of the revised text last night (Friday), Anna Macdonald, Oxfam's Head of Arms Control, said: