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This briefing paper argues that austerity measures are a form of gender-based violence against women, girls and non-binary people, and lays out clear examples of how fiscal consolidation affects them. Its core argument is that ending austerity must be a priority. The policies that deliver austerity’s deadly consequences can no longer be marketed as the ‘logical’ and ‘inevitable’ economic options that they have been for decades, and certainly not by any government that claims a commitment to gender equality or ending gender-based violence. Austerity takes away from those who need it most, while ignoring common-sense ways to improve both revenue and prosperity. The paper goes on to share feminist economic alternatives offer pathways that can protect the Majority World from completely avoidable suffering., Ce document d’information explique que les mesures d’austérité sont une forme de violence basée sur le genre à l’encontre des femmes, des filles et des personnes non binaires, et présente des exemples clairs de la manière dont la consolidation fiscale les affecte. Son principal propos : mettre un terme à l’austérité doit être une priorité. Les politiques d’austérité aux conséquences mortelles ne peuvent plus être présentées comme les options économiques « logiques » et « inévitables » qu’elles ont été pendant des décennies, et certainement pas par un État qui prétend s’engager en faveur de l’égalité de genre ou de la fin des violences basées sur le genre. L’austérité dépouille celles et ceux dont les besoins sont les plus criants, tout en tournant le dos aux moyens de bon sens qui permettraient d’améliorer les revenus et la prospérité. Les alternatives économiques féministes offrent des voies susceptibles de protéger le monde majoritaire10 d’une souffrance totalement évitable.

In 2009, high-income countries committed in the Copenhagen Accords to mobilize US$100 billion a year by 2020 in climate finance for low- and middle-income countries. Oxfam reported on the progress of this commitment in 2016, 2018 and 2020. This year’s report finds that high-income countries have not only failed to deliver on their commitment, but also – as in previous years – generous accounting practices have allowed them to overstate the level of support they have actually provided. Moreover, much of the finance has been provided as loans, which means that it risks increasing the debt burden of the countries it is supposed to help., This paper calls on high-income countries to accelerate the mobilization and provision of climate finance, and to make up the shortfall from previous years, in a way that is equitable and just. High-income countries must provide finance that is transparent, with genuine accountability mechanisms, and that allows for far more local ownership and responsiveness to the needs of communities it is intended to reach. People on the frontlines of the climate crisis must have the funding they were promised for adaptation and mitigation, and to address the loss and damage they are already experiencing as a result of climate impacts., En 2009, les pays à revenu élevé se sont engagés par le biais de l’Accord de Copenhague à mobiliser 100 milliards de dollars par an avant 2020 dans le cadre du financement climat pour les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire. Oxfam a rendu compte de la progression dans la réalisation de cet engagement en 2016, 2018 et 2020. Cette dernière édition du rapport révèle que les pays à revenu élevé ont non seulement manqué à leur engagement, mais ils ont, au cours des années précédentes, recouru à des pratiques comptables généreuses leur ayant permis de surestimer le niveau de soutien qu’ils apportent en réalité. De plus, une grande partie des financements ont été fournis sous forme de prêts, au risque d’augmenter le poids de la dette des pays qu’ils sont censés aider., Ce rapport appelle les pays à revenu élevé à accélérer la mobilisation et la fourniture des financements climat ainsi qu’à compenser les lacunes des années précédentes, de manière équitable et juste. Les pays à revenu élevé doivent fournir des financements transparents, s’articulant autour de véritables mécanismes de redevabilité, pour une plus grande appropriation locale et une bien meilleure réactivité aux besoins des communautés visées. Les populations se trouvant en première ligne de la crise climatique doivent impérativement recevoir le financement promis afin de faire face à l’adaptation et à l’atténuation et compenser les pertes et dommages découlant déjà des impacts climatiques.

Since 2020, the richest five men in the world have doubled their fortunes. During the same period, almost five billion people globally have become poorer. Hardship and hunger are a daily reality for many people worldwide. At current rates, it will take 230 years to end poverty, but we could have our first trillionaire in 10 years., This report shows how a huge concentration of global corporate and monopoly power is exacerbating inequality economy-wide. Seven out of ten of the world’s biggest corporates have either a billionaire CEO or a billionaire as their principal shareholder. Through squeezing workers, dodging tax, privatizing the state and spurring climate breakdown, corporations are driving inequality and acting in the service of delivering ever-greater wealth to their rich owners. To end extreme inequality, governments must radically redistribute the power of billionaires and corporations back to ordinary people. A more equal world is possible if governments effectively regulate and reimagine the private sector., Depuis 2020, les cinq hommes les plus riches du monde ont doublé leur fortune. Au cours de la même période, près de cinq milliards de personnes se sont appauvries. Les conditions de vie difficiles et la faim sont une réalité quotidienne pour de nombreuses personnes à travers le monde. Au rythme actuel, il faudra 230 ans pour mettre fin à la pauvreté, alors que nous pourrions voir pour la première fois la fortune d'un multimilliardaire franchir le cap des 1 000 milliards de dollars dans dix ans., L’énorme concentration du pouvoir des grandes entreprises et des monopoles à l’échelle mondiale exacerbe les inégalités à tous les niveaux de l’économie. Sept des dix plus grandes entreprises mondiales ont un PDG milliardaire ou un milliardaire comme actionnaire principal. En faisant peser la pression sur les travailleurs et les travailleuses, en évitant l’impôt, en privatisant l’État et en participant grandement au réchauffement climatique, les grandes entreprises creusent les inégalités et contribuent à gonfler toujours plus la fortune de leurs riches propriétaires. Pour mettre fin à ces inégalités extrêmes, les gouvernements doivent impérativement redistribuer le pouvoir des milliardaires et des grandes entreprises aux citoyen·nes ordinaires. Un monde plus égalitaire est possible si les gouvernements réglementent et réorganisent efficacement le secteur privé.

The triple nexus (H-D-P) approach aims to challenge a linear and sequential intervention logic. Humanitarian aid, development programmes and peacebuilding programmes must be implemented simultaneously to address the systemic inequalities and weaknesses that keep people in poverty and make them vulnerable. This paradigm shift requires major transformations in both the humanitarian and development sectors. These case studies show how some of Oxfam's interventions are adapting to and incorporating this new logic.

New analysis shows the economic crisis caused by Coronavirus could push over half a billion people into poverty unless urgent and dramatic action is taken. This virus affects us all, even princes and prime ministers. But the equality ends there. By exploiting the extreme inequalities between rich and poor people, rich and poor nations and between women and men, unchecked this crisis will cause immense suffering., We can only beat this virus through coming together as one. Developing countries must act to protect their people, and demand action from rich nations to support them. Rich country governments must massively upscale their help – led by the G20. This paper lays out an Economic Rescue Plan For All that meets the scale of the crisis, mobilizing at least $2.5 trillion dollars to tackle the pandemic and prevent global economic collapse. It prioritizes helping people directly: giving cash grants to all who need them. An immediate suspension of the debt payments of poor countries, combined with a one-off economic stimulus by the IMF and an increase in aid and taxes, can pay for this., The key points of the ‘Economic Rescue Plan For All’ would be, 1. To provide cash grants for all who need them. All workers suffering a loss of income must have access to some form of income replacement, be it a wage subsidy, unemployment benefit, sick pay or other benefits., 2. Bail out businesses responsibly. The stimulus packages announced in response to the pandemic must not make the same mistakes as were made in the 2008 financial crisis. Instead, bailout money must go into the hands of the most vulnerable people – workers and small businesses who are the least prepared to cope., 3. Suspend and cancel debts. Cancelling debt payments is the fastest way to keep money in countries and to free up resources to tackle the urgent health, social and economic crises resulting from the global pandemic., 4. Issue Special Drawing Rights. The G20 should immediately propose an emergency issuance of $1 trillion in SDRs., 5. Increase aid now. Donors should provide immediate emergency support to limit the outbreak and save lives, both through multilateral bodies like the World Health Organization that are responsible for managing the global response and directly to developing countries., 6. Adopt emergency solidarity taxes. Governments must make use of extraordinary measures to tax those who can afford to be taxed, in order to fund the global health package and the global economic relief measures.

Arms and bullets continue to destroy lives. Every continent in the world is marred by devastation caused by armed violence. Yet there is still no effective international regulation of the global arms trade. The need for an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which will create globally binding regulation of the international trade in conventional weapons for the first time, is greater than ever. Negotiators at the second and final Diplomatic Conference in March 2013 must deliver a treaty text that holds countries to the highest standards. This paper highlights the missing pieces that must be in the treaty text, if it is to save lives and protect people.

The effectiveness of international aid, both in meeting urgent needs and in tackling entrenched poverty, is being undermined in some of the world’s poorest places. While effective aid has helped save lives, protect rights and build livelihoods, some donors’ military and security interests have skewed global aid spending; and amidst conflict, disasters and political instability have too often led to uncoordinated, unsustainable, expensive and even dangerous aid projects. Skewed aid policies and practices threaten to undermine a decade of government donors’ international commitments to effective, needs-focussed international aid. This paper sets out how these commitments are being disregarded, and how this trend can be reversed.

The realisation of the right to health for millions of people in poor countries depends upon a massive increase in health services to achieve universal and equitable access. A growing number of international donors are promoting an expansion of private-sector health-care delivery to fulfil this goal. The private sector can play a role in health care. But this paper shows there is an urgent need to reassess the arguments used in favour of scaling-up private-sector provision in poor countries. The evidence shows that prioritising this approach is extremely unlikely to deliver health for poor people. Governments and rich country donors must strengthen state capacities to regulate and focus on the rapid expansion of free publicly provided health care, a proven way to save millions of lives worldwide.

Climate change is damaging people’s lives today. Even if world leaders agree the strictest possible curbs on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the prospects are very bleak for hundreds of millions of people, most of them among the world’s poorest. This paper puts the dramatic stories of some of those people alongside the latest science on the impacts of climate change on humans. Together they explain why climate change is fundamentally a development crisis. The world must act immediately and decisively to address this, the greatest peril to humanity this century.

With no end to the conflict in Syria in sight, the four million people forced to flee the country have no foreseeable prospect of safe return. And as the impact of the crisis on neighbouring countries grows and aid dries up, the situation for these refugees is becoming increasingly dire., This briefing calls for a new approach by the international community, including Syria's neighbours; one which offers hope, safety and dignity to the millions of refugees, and gives them a chance to contribute to the societies and economies of their hosts.

The number of people killed, displaced or in desperate need of assistance as a result of the conflict in Syria continues to rise. With 3 million refugees, 6.5 million people displaced inside Syria and 190,000 people killed, the crisis is posing a serious risk to the security and stability of neighbouring countries., The sheer scale of this crisis demands specific and increased commitments from the international community to help alleviate the suffering: to fully fund the aid response, to offer refugees resettlement, and to halt the transfer of arms and ammunition., Through key indicators that Oxfam has developed in each of these areas, this briefing shows how far the international community is falling short of what is needed.

The most recent escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel has come at terrible human cost. More than 1,500 civilians in Gaza, and six in Israel, have been killed. Over 100,000 Palestinians have been left homeless and vital civilian infrastructure worth billions of dollars has been destroyed in Gaza. The recent ceasefire announcement is certainly a welcome one, but is only the first step on a long road toward lasting peace., Unless long-term solutions are found to ensure economic growth and sustainable development in Gaza, frequent military escalations will only continue, increasing insecurity for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The Israeli government’s implementation of a policy of separation – politically and physically isolating Gaza from the West Bank – has resulted in the fragmentation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and is a major obstacle to the chances of lasting peace., The conflict between Palestinians and Israelis requires a long-term political solution that begins with a lasting ceasefire, continues with the end of the blockade of Gaza, and ends with a negotiated peace based on international law.

The horrifying chemical weapons attacks in Damascus in August 2013 led to ill-advised plans for a US military intervention and a flurry of diplomatic activity. Ultimately it prompted international leadership on the Syria crisis that had been sorely lacking for so long. With long-awaited peace talks due to resume in Geneva in November, this new momentum has the potential to turn into a breakthrough only if urgent and immediate action is taken on aid and efforts are made to stop the bloodshed., This paper details Oxfam’s call for action from the international community on, first, aid, and then on the fundamental imperative to stop the bloodshed and take steps towards a just, sustainable peace in Syria.

As key governments and institutions from the region and the wider Islamic and Western world gather in London on 23 February 2012 to review their approach to the crisis in Somalia, this paper highlights the need for more effective international engagement with the country’s ongoing humanitarian emergency. More than six months after the UN declared a famine, over 31 per cent of the population remains in urgent need of assistance, an escalation of the conflict is still forcing thousands of civilians from their homes, and expulsions and insecurity are making it increasingly difficult for aid agencies to reach those in need. While responsibility for this situation lies first and foremost with Somali warring factions, the international community has also been at fault. Policies focused more on international security concerns than on the needs, interests, and wishes of the Somali people have inadvertently fuelled both the conflict and the humanitarian crisis. An internationally backed escalation of regional military intervention since late 2011 presents grave risks for the civilian population and their access to assistance, which foreign governments and multilateral institutions have been slow to respond to. A dangerous conflation of humanitarian assistance with international security and state-building initiatives in Somalia, including counter-terrorism efforts, has fed perceptions among opposition groups that aid agencies are proxies of Western governments, further shrinking humanitarian space. It is unclear how long the current period of intense conflict across much of southern Somalia will continue. But we do know that as long as it does, the food crisis will persist in the affected areas. If millions of people in need are to benefit fully from the aid efforts of Somali civil society and international agencies, more systematic account must be taken of the humanitarian fallout of regional and international political and security initiatives. More coherent strategies are needed from regional, Western and Islamic stakeholders, focused on supporting inclusive Somali-led reconciliation and peace-building, while scaling up efforts to increase humanitarian access and coordination, and to build Somali resilience to future shocks.

In 2010, vast humanitarian crises from Haiti to Pakistan almost overwhelmed the international system’s ability to respond. Despite years of reform, UN agencies, donors, and international NGOs (INGOs) struggled to cope. In 2011, Somalia yet again saw a response too little and too late, driven by media attention, not a timely, impartial assessment of human needs. At the same time, humanitarian action is needed now more than ever. The growing number of vulnerable people, the rise in disasters, and the failure to put most fragile states on the path to development, will significantly increase needs. Western-based donors, INGOs and the UN provide only part of the answer. Already, new donors and NGOs from around the world provide a significant share of humanitarian aid. Future humanitarian action will rely on them, and on the governments and civil society of crisis-affected countries even more. The UN and INGOs will be vital, but their contribution will increasingly be measured by how well they complement and support the efforts of others, and encourage every humanitarian actor to uphold humanitarian principles.

The floods that hit Pakistan in 2010 were the worst in the country’s history. The humanitarian response achieved remarkable successes in minimising the immediate loss of life and providing relief to millions of people. However, it could have been better: more than 800,000 families remain without permanent shelter and more than a million people remain in need of food assistance. These unmet needs must be addressed as a matter of urgency. As Pakistan faces another monsoon season and the likelihood of more disasters, the country is not prepared. Many factors which have hampered the relief and reconstruction effort are still present, such as an inadequate disaster management system and a lack of emergency relief co-ordination and leadership. These institutional challenges must be resolved as soon as possible. The government and donors need to invest heavily in measures to reduce disaster risks such as better early warning systems, flood control, and more resilient housing. They should also tackle the underlying social inequalities which leave people vulnerable to disasters through a pro-poor national development plan. Spending on risk reduction and preparedness not only saves lives and livelihoods but hugely reduces the economic impact of disasters.

Oxfam’s overall aim for the Rights in Crisis (RiC) campaign is that “all women and men in humanitarian crises will be assured both the protection and the assistance they require, regardless of who they are or how they are affected, in a manner consistent with their human rights”. Years of experience at the country level has shown that, in the contexts in which Oxfam works, United Nations peacekeeping forces are key to improving the protection of civilians. Oxfam is closely following the United Nations “New Horizon” process – which is currently assessing the major policy and strategy dilemmas that face UN peacekeeping today – to ensure that it results in a shared vision of protection of civilians as the main purpose of UN peacekeeping and establishes the effective approaches and capacities required to implement this vision on the ground. “Engaging with communities: The next challenge for peacekeeping” looks at how peacekeepers can engage with communities to better protect civilians; it identifies best practices, as well as some clear gaps in existing practice. It is being launched to coincide with a debate on the protection of civilians in the UN Security Council to be held on 22nd November. Oxfam sees this as an opportunity for the UNSC to give a clearer direction to peacekeepers to engage with communities and to address some the challenges indicated in the report.

Five years ago, members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) signed a ministerial agreement to ensure that intellectual property rules would no longer obstruct developing countries’ efforts to protect public health. Since then, however, little has changed. Patented medicines continue to be priced out of reach for the world’s poorest people. Trade rules remain a major barrier to accessing affordable versions of patented medicines (generic medicines). The prevalence of debilitating and life-threatening diseases in poor countries is growing, but medicines are simply not available. Urgent action is needed.

The USA continues to impose TRIPS-plus rules on developing countries, thus preventing poor people from accessing inexpensive, generic medicines. Jordan was required under the terms of its WTO accession package and its free trade agreement (FTA) with the USA to introduce TRIPS-plus rules. Medicine prices have increased drastically, and TRIPS-plus rules were partly responsible for this increase. Furthermore, stricter levels of intellectual property protection have conferred few benefits with respect to foreign direct investment, domestic research and development, or accelerating introduction of new, effective medicines. Medicine prices will continue to rise in Jordan, but the country will be unable to use TRIPS safeguards to reduce their cost. Other developing countries implementing or considering FTAs with TRIPS-plus rules should consider the consequences for public health.

Decades of faltering public commitment to investing in agriculture has hindered farmers’ ability to cope with price volatility, climatic and economic shocks, or to pull themselves out of poverty. Yet donors and governments must see investing in agriculture as part of the long-term solution to the food, financial, and climate crises. Global agricultural growth and rural livelihoods cannot be improved nor poverty reduced without renewed public commitment to invest more, and more wisely in agriculture. Investments must include the forgotten poor people who live in marginalized areas, be context specific, demand-driven, participatory, and promote sustainable rural livelihoods through environmentally sustainable and empowering practices that treat men’s and women’s needs equitably.

Armed violence is the greatest threat facing Iraqis, but the population is also experiencing another kind of crisis of an alarming scale and severity. Eight million people are in urgent need of emergency aid; that figure includes over two million who are displaced within the country, and more than two million refugees. Many more are living in poverty, without basic services, and increasingly threatened by disease and malnutrition. Despite the constraints imposed by violence, the government of Iraq, the United Nations, and international donors can do more to deliver humanitarian assistance to reduce unnecessary suffering. If people’s basic needs are left unattended, this will only serve to further destabilise the country.

The quiet advance of trade and investment agreements between rich and poor countries threatens to deny developing countries a favourable foothold in the global economy. Driven by the USA and the European Union, these agreements impose far-reaching rules that place severe restrictions on the very policies developing countries need in order to fight poverty.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is organizing a ‘Highlevel meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees’, which will be opened by the United Nations Secretary-General in Geneva on 30 March 2016. Oxfam is calling for the states attending the Geneva conference to collectively commit to offer a safe haven through resettlement or other forms of humanitarian admission to at least 10 percent of the refugee population – the equivalent of 481,220 people – by the end of 2016.

The number of people in need as a result of the conflict in Syria continues to rise, but the international aid response has failed to keep up. The donor conference in London on 4 February 2016 is another opportunity to reverse that trend and put Syrian civilians first. Oxfam is calling for rich states to commit to fully funding this year’s Syria crisis response appeal and to resettle 10 percent of all registered Syrian refugees by the end of 2016., Oxfam has developed indicators to determine the fair level of commitment that each wealthy country should make to the appeals in 2016 to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the Syria crisis.

The arrival of tens of thousands of Syrians to Europe’s borders and the shocking deaths of women, children and men on their perilous journey has been a sharp reminder to the international community of the tragedy engulfing the people of Syria. Syrians put themselves and their families at so much risk only out of sheer desperation., The international community has failed so far to address the spiralling catastrophe in Syria. This briefing calls for urgent and immediate action by the international community to deal with this deepening crisis: to fully fund the aid response; to offer refuge to those who have fled Syria, including through resettlement of a fair share of the refugee population; to halt the transfer of arms and ammunition and to revive concerted efforts towards a resolution of the crisis.

In 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 to uphold women’s rights in conflict and their roles in peace and security. Despite signs of progress, the impact on women’s lives and roles worldwide has been sporadic. This briefing argues that 15 years on, the UN and Member States should use a formal review of the Women, Peace and Security agenda as a crucial opportunity to address key gaps. New commitments should focus on women’s participation, preventing conflict and gender-based violence, monitoring and implementation, and financing.

Oxfam has calculated that nearly half of the world’s top donors didn’t give their fair share of aid to the Syria crisis in 2014, based on the size of their economies., The numbers of people in need as a result of the conflict in Syria continues to rise, but the international humanitarian response has not kept pace. Now, in 2015 aid actors estimate that $8.7bn is needed to support 18 million people in Syria and neighbouring countries. Based on the size of rich countries’ economies, Oxfam has determined what an equitable share of the required funds would look like for each donor state. So far, for 2015, only the UK has pledged its ‘fair share’ ahead of the Kuwait donor conference on 31 March 2015, and overall appeals are only 9.8% funded. The donor conference is an opportunity to reverse this shortfall. Failure to do so will have a devastating effect on millions of civilians in Syria and its neighbouring countries., Oxfam has developed indicators to help guide the fair level of commitment that each wealthy country should make in 2015 to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the Syria crisis: The level of funding each country makes available for the humanitarian response, relative to the size of their economy (based on gross national income); The number of Syrian refugees each country has helped to find safety through offers of resettlement or other forms of humanitarian protection, again based on the size of the economy.

Every year, the Somali diaspora sends home approximately $1.3bn. Remittances account for 25–45 percent of Somalia’s economy and exceed the amount it receives in humanitarian aid, development aid and foreign direct investment combined. As Somali money transfer operators lose their bank accounts, Somali families are losing their only formal or transparent channel through which to send money. Somalia needs long-term support to build sustainable financial institutions, and urgent help to maintain its current remittance flows. This briefing reviews international efforts to facilitate remittances to Somalia and focuses on the US and the UK, where the threat to the Somali remittance system is most acute. It also looks at the uncertain future viability of the Somali remittance industry in Australia.

The Queen 'Mamohato Memorial Hospital in Lesotho was built under a public–private partnership (PPP), which is the first of its kind in a low-income country and has been described as opening a new era for private sector involvement in healthcare in Africa. Instead, the Ministry of Health in one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the world is locked into an 18-year contract that already consumes more than half of its health budget. This is a dangerous diversion of scarce public funds from primary healthcare services in rural areas, where three-quarters of the population live., The PPP was developed under the advice of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and is seen as their flagship model to be replicated across Africa. Lesotho’s experience supports international evidence that health PPPs of this kind are high risk and costly, and fail to advance the goal of universal and equitable health coverage. Oxfam argues in this report that the IFC should be held to account for the poor quality of its advice to the Government of Lesotho and for marketing this health PPP as a success internationally, despite its unsustainable costs.

The human cost of Syria’s conflict has risen beyond all expectations. There are already more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries. Inside Syria itself, 6.8 million people struggle in urgent need of assistance., This briefing describes how, as the numbers grow, the money to help some of those refugees and displaced people is running out. UN appeals have received only half of the funding they sought – to help far fewer people than they now need to assist. And Oxfam’s humanitarian programme is struggling with insufficient funds to help as much as it needs to, despite the generosity of its supporters and the public., The world has failed to find common purpose to end Syria’s brutal conflict. Shamefully, it has also failed to provide enough aid to help the conflict’s most vulnerable victims. Without a massive increase in aid now, and secured funding for long-term aid, millions of Syrians will miss out on the food, water, shelter and medical care that they desperately need., Donor governments – in the region and the OECD – must urgently give more aid now, and be ready to give more in the longer term as, tragically, the needs increase.

The arms trade is out of control. The irresponsible trade in arms devastates lives and livelihoods and the world can no longer continue turning a blind eye. In July 2012, governments have a historic opportunity to create a strong Arms Trade Treaty that builds a more secure future for all the world’s citizens. The Arms Trade Treaty must have clear, unambiguous language that covers all conventional arms, ammunition, parts and components. It must include robust and legally binding criteria that prevent arms being transferred where there is a substantial risk that they will be used in violation of international human rights or humanitarian law, or will undermine development. The Arms Trade Treaty must have strong measures for transparency and accountability, and an effective implementation and enforcement mechanism. Strong treaties gain new members and set international standards; treaties that start out weak rarely get stronger. Governments must not compromise during the final countdown for the sake of securing universal agreement. Under no circumstances should countries agree to a watered down Treaty that fails to control the arms trade and fails to reduce human suffering. Decades from now, those looking back at July 2012 should be able to judge the Arms Trade Treaty as a defining moment for global peace, development and security.

The poorly regulated global trade in arms and ammunition weakens the ability and willingness of governments to sustain progress in development. It fuels and exacerbates conflicts and armed violence, diverting resources away from poverty reduction activities. Development gains are lost as communities are paralysed: schools are closed, health systems are strained to breaking point, investment is discouraged, and security is undermined. Through a strong focus on development, the Arms Trade Treaty can help prevent serious impediments to development, consolidate regional initiatives to safeguard development, and strengthen national capacity to become ‘treaty-compliant’. With just weeks to go before diplomats meet at the United Nations, ‘Armed Robbery’ makes the case that a specific criteria on development as part of the Arms Trade Treaty, alongside other criteria on human rights and international humanitarian law, is one of the best ways to ensure that arms sales do not have a negative impact on socio-economic development.

Guns are useless without bullets. An Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) that does not control ammunition will not achieve its purposes. Ammunition is bigger business than weapons, with twelve billion bullets produced each year – nearly two bullets for every person in the world. The global trade in ammunition for small arms and light weapons is worth more than the trade in firearms and light weapons themselves: an estimated $4.3bn a year. An ATT that does not cover ammunition will fail to achieve what it has set out to do – that is, to help prevent human suffering, armed conflict, and serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. Several countries are arguing that ammunition should be excluded from the ATT. Some of these countries say the sheer volume of trade makes it too difficult to monitor. This would be a colossal mistake. There are already several ways to track ammunition transfers. Inclusion in the ATT would significantly strengthen these mechanisms and the resolve to implement them. Failure would undermine what best practice already exists.

According to new figures, more than $2.2bn worth of arms and ammunition have been imported since 2000 to countries operating under arms embargoes. This figure shows the extent to which states have been flagrantly flouting the 26 UN, regional or multilateral arms embargoes in force during this period. Oxfam is calling on the international community to put an end to decades of irresponsible arms deals which devastate people’s lives by agreeing a set of legally binding laws when diplomats meet to draw up a new Arms Trade Treaty in July 2012. Oxfam wants to see the new treaty place strict, unambiguous and legal obligations on states to control the global trade in arms. To be effective, the new Arms Trade Treaty must include legally binding criteria that prevent arms transfers where there is a substantial risk that they will be used to violate international human rights or humanitarian law or undermine development. The new Arms Trade Treaty must be robust enough to have a genuine impact on the lives of tens of thousands of innocent civilians suffering from armed violence every single day. This is the chance of a generation to truly make a difference.

In June 2009 the blockade on the Gaza Strip enters its third year. The intense closure policy, coupled with the government of Israel’s recent military operation ‘Cast Lead’, has had a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of one and a half million Gazans, pushing them further into poverty and aid dependency.

When the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Euro-Med) was announced in Barcelona with a great fanfare in 1995, it was hoped that it would herald a new age in relations between the European Union (EU) and its ten southern Mediterranean partner countries, bringing unprecedented opportunities in the social, economic, and political fields.