commerce

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

On the eve of a high-level summit between the leaders of India and the European Union in Delhi, Oxfam is calling on the EU not to pressure India into agreeing new trade rules that could deny hundreds of millions of people access to affordable medicines.

As the 18th African Union Summit starts in Addis Ababa, civil society organizations from across Africa are concerned that the summit’s central theme, “Boosting Intra- African Trade,“ risks being overshadowed and will not get the focus needed to tackle this urgent issue.

Arms traffickers can too easily navigate the patchwork of national arms regulations, fuelling conflict while avoiding arrest and extradition, because countries have been too weak or reluctant to pass an international arms trade treaty, says international agency Oxfam.

In recent years states have increasingly begun to recognize that the regulation of the international trade in conventional arms is a necessary and essential component of national and international

Berhanu Beyene, a soft spoken 45-year old coffee grower in Werka, Yirgacheffe, says what is good for the environment is also good for business.