Savaged by fighting, atrocities, and famine, Sudan is descending into chaos, exacerbated by foreign interference, despite the Geneva negotiations. The deadlock has pushed Sudan into being a “forgotten” conflict. Sudan’s reality If this were a film, its script would be criticised for overusing every dramatic device. Looting, rape, executions, and bombings. The horrors of a Read more
“Disarmament Week” – a UN-sponsored event that takes place every year from October 24-30 – usually comes and goes unnoticed. It is seen as a nice idea that is impractical in the real world. This year, however, it is more likely to be dismissed as an absurd idea. The conflict between Israel and Hamas will Read more
Ahead of a major arms fair in London, Catholic leaders in the UK are calling for an end to the arms trade. The Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) takes place every two years in the British capital, and brings together members of the arms industry with government officials, military officers, and academics. This year’s Read more
The drums of war are beating ever louder as arms traders supply weapons for war in the Middle East while the superpowers line up in confrontational posturing in a show of might and military power. “Might is right” is the thinking behind the three biggest military powers vying for prestige and power in the world. Read more
Statistics show that the UK Government licensed £5,335,852,492 worth of arms to the Saudi Arabian regime in the first four years of its ongoing bombardment of Yemen (26 March 2015 – 25 March 2019). This is an increase of almost 50% on the value of arms licensed in the four years preceding the war, which Read more
Conflict in Iraq, Syria and Gaza has led to the greatest humanitarian crisis the world has seen since World War II, a senior cardinal says. Caritas Internationalis president Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga told a Rome conference on Monday that there are 13 million Syrians in desperate need. More than four million Iraqis and Syrians are Read more
The Pacific Conference of Churches, at the end of its tenth Assembly has passed resolutions about the following topics: Tahiti independence West Papua independence Freedom Sunday Nuclear testing Seabed mining Solidarity on mining Tourism, fishing and forestry Facilitating the concerns of members by engaging on the issue with agencies such as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Read more
The Vatican has backed efforts to draft a landmark international treaty to control the $NZ74 billion arms industry, but discussions by more than 170 countries ended without a decision. Diplomats said the door is still open for further talks, with the possibility of a draft arms treaty being brought to the United Nations General Assembly Read more
As heads of several united Nations bodies labelled the current attempts to regulate trade in conventional weapons as “patchwork” and “simply not adequate,” Head of the Holy See’s delegation, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, told the preparatory meeting of the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty that arms are are not the same as other goods traded on the Read more