Skip to main content

Arms trade treaty may point a way forward for the U.N.

/
For years governments told us in meetings that an Arms Trade Treaty was a fanciful idea – merely a twinkle in our campaigning eye. But earlier this month an Arms Trade Treaty was adopted by an overwhelming majority at the United Nations General Assembly. Thanks to the democratic process, international law will for the first […] Read more »
Control Arms

Arms Trade Treaty a victory for victims of armed violence

/
Today at the United Nations in New York, we have been part of making history. 155 governments including Australia have just voted yes to a ground-breaking Arms Trade Treaty to curb the irresponsible arms trade that every day claims 1,500 lives. The global agreement on this treaty has finally sent a clear signal to gunrunners […] Read more »

History made as Arms Trade Treaty agreed

/
On 2 April 2013, history was made as the Arms Trade Treaty – the first agreement to control global arms sales – received an overwhelming ‘yes’ vote at the United Nations in New York. This momentous Treaty is the culmination of more than ten years of campaigning to rein in the irresponsible trade in arms […] Read more »

#VoteYes on #ArmsTreaty tomorrow

/
Tomorrow we are hoping to make history. After 10 years of campaigning for a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty that works to curb the irresponsible weapons trade, world governments will finally vote on the treaty text in the UN General Assembly in less than 12 hours. Over the past two weeks, Oxfam campaigners have been […] Read more »

Oxfam’s latest efforts to push for strong Arms Trade Treaty – New York

/
On the penultimate day of the ATT negotiations we got the media’s attention early morning with a helicopter assembled on a New York rooftop, with the UN in the background. Monday started with a press conference, where it was made clear to the world that the text on the table was not something that was going […] Read more »

Another day at the office, pushing for a global Arms Trade Treaty

/
“What do you actually do all day over there?” That’s a question a friend back home skyped me on Wednesday. I’ve been working on the Arms Trade Treaty for a long time now, and spent a lot of time at the various UN meetings. But what actually happens? What do we do all day? I thought I’d […] Read more »
Arms collection

Arms Trade Treaty finally in reach

/
For more than a decade, millions of people across the globe have campaigned for a global treaty to bring the poorly regulated international arms trade under control. This goal is now in reach. Read more »

Let’s get a bulletproof Arms Trade Treaty, not a quick fix

/
This week marks the second anniversary of the start of the bloody Syrian civil war, which has killed an estimated 70,000 people, injured hundreds of thousands more and led to over a million people fleeing the country in fear. The UN Security Council has failed to impose an arms embargo on Syria. With only a […] Read more »

Every bullet has a story

/
Dr. Robert Mtonga from Zambia shares his reflections on the need for a global arms trade treaty. Here are four scenarios that I have lived through that have motivated me to campaign for an Arms Trade Treaty to control the deadly trade in weapons. Picture a boy, aged 13 years and full of naivety; he […] Read more »

Seat or no seat, Australia has Security Council status

/
The countries of the world will sit down to vote overnight on who will become the newest non-permanent members of the Security Council. If Australia comes out a winner, it has the chance to play a key role in preventing conflict around the world, including in places where Australians are working directly on the ground, […] Read more »