armes

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 United Nations Arms Trade Treaty will "enter-into-force" and become international law on December 24, 2014.

The international response to Syria is failing on three fronts – insufficient aid, meager resettlement offers and continued arms transfers – Oxfam warns in a report published today.

At the closing of the first day of the Geneva II Conference, in Montreux, Oxfam’s Shaheen Chughtai said:

History will be made today at the United Nations as many governments sign an Arms Trade Treaty designed to protect millions living in daily fear of armed violence.

In reaction to 62 states signing the Arms Trade Treaty today at the United Nations in New York, Anna Macdonald, Head of Arms Control, Oxfam said:

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

The Control Arms Coalition today say the vote for the first ever global treaty to regulate the international arms trade marks ‘an incredible moment’ signalling the dawn of a new era.

International aid agency Oxfam condemns Syria, Iran and North Korea for blocking  agreement today of the Arms Trade Treaty, which would have saved lives and closed the many loopholes that unscrupulous arms dealers now navigate with impunity.