Written by Linda Åkerström, Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society and Sofia Tuvestad, WILPF Sweden Last night presented a major victory for disarmament and women’s rights activists in the Swedish peace movement, as the Swedish government declared it will not continue its heavily criticized military cooperation agreement (Memorandum of Understanding, MoU) with Saudi Arabia. The news came […]
Tag Archives: NGO
Germany’s arms exports to Saudi Arabia: what we know and some important questions
posted by controlarmsblog
Written by Lorey Campese, Control Arms In a recent post on the Control Arms website, we congratulated the government of Germany on the halting of arms exports to Saudi Arabia. This was based on a report by the German news outlet Bild am Sonntag, which, citing government sources, claimed that arms transfers would either be “rejected […]
ATT provides new hope in 2015 for civilians in conflict
posted by controlarmsblog
Written by Anna Macdonald, Control Arms Today, new international law enters into force introducing tight new controls on the $85bn arms trade. Arms campaigner Anna Macdonald here speaks about her hopes for the protection of civilians during 2015. It’s that time of year again when people start talking about Peace on Earth and goodwill to […]
Germany and the Arms Trade Treaty
posted by controlarmsblog
Written by Robert Lindner, Oxfam Germany As long as I can remember, German arms like the Leopard tank and Heckler & Koch guns have always been among the export hits of the arms industry. Grim deals with deadly products “Made in Germany” still constitute the dark side of Germany’s fame as one of the world’s leading […]
Tao Tao! Together Together! People People!
posted by controlarmsblog
Written by Zoya Craig, Control Arms Siem Reap, Cambodia Participants from 12 countries, the UN, and civil society trickled into the room in the morning, most suffering from some jet lag after long journeys to Siem Reap, but all were ready to discuss the ATT and how to promote signatures and ratifications in the Asia […]
Activism is alive and flourishing in the South Pacific
posted by controlarmsblog
Written by Allison Pytlak, Control Arms I recently had the opportunity travel to Fiji for a meeting of the Pacific Small Arms Action Group (PSAAG), the regional body that has been leading the charge on Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) advocacy for the last several years. With 19 members and connections in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, […]
How the UK can be a global champion for the ATT
posted by controlarmsblog
Written by Ben Donaldson, UNA-UK So far, April has been a big month for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Five out of the world’s top ten exporters have ratified the Treaty, including the UK. This takes us more than halfway to 50 ratifications – the requisite number which triggers the 90 day countdown for the Treaty […]
The stepping stones to changing the arms trade
posted by controlarmsblog
Written by Lorey Campese, Oxfam In the halls of the UN yesterday, countries from every corner of the globe came together again to take action on the Arms Trade Treaty. This time, they passed a resolution that encourages countries to make the ATT’s impact felt as quickly as possible. The resolution formally urged States that […]
Making History Together
posted by controlarmsblog
Written by Allison Pytlak, Control Arms The room was teeming with energy in the only way that a room full of activists can; many of us friends and old colleagues who only meet a few times a year at conferences such as these. Warm hugs and smiles mixed in with friendly jokes and jabs. It […]
Control Arms at the UN: an insider’s view
posted by controlarmsblog
Written by Lorey Campese, Oxfam With the bang of a gavel and a brief applause, the 2013 UN General Assembly First Committee was over. Lasting a full month, the Committee, which includes all UN members discussed some of the world’s most pressing issues relating to disarmament and international security. High among these was the issue […]