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Global Campaign on Military Spending

Demilitarize! Invest in People's Needs

Pax Christi International in the Global Day of Action on Military Spending

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Pax Christi International has invited faith-based organisations and religious communities worldwide to join the “Disarmament for Sustainable Development Campaign” as launched by the International Peace Bureau. The main goal of this initiative is to press for an end to excessive military expenditures and for significant investment to address human insecurity and threats to the planet.

Pax Christi International is very concerned about and brings attention to the increasing military expenditures (compared to 2012 data) in the following regions and countries:

  • Africa (large increase). Top five spenders are Algeria (exceeding $10 billion for the first time), Angola, South Africa, Morocco and Libya. Increasing military expenses in: Ghana, Mauritius, Angola, DRCongo, Seychelles, Zambia, Tunisia, Morocco and Mali.
  • Asia and Oceania (significant increase). Top five spenders are China, Japan, India, South Korea and Australia. Increasing military expenses in: Afghanistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan.
  • Central and South America (small increase). Top five spenders are: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Venezuela. Increasing military expenses in: Paraguay, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia and Peru.
  • Europe (slight decrease). Top five spenders are Russia, France, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. Increasing military expenses in Ukraine, Belarus, Malta and Portugal.
  • Middle East (significant increase). Top five spenders are Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran and Oman. Increasing military expenses in Iraq, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
Click here to read  the complete article.

Seacoast Peace Response sponsors annual ‘Penny Poll’

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PORTSMOUTH —Seacoast Peace Response will hold its annual War Tax Education Penny Poll in Market Square on Tuesday, April 15, federal income tax day.The poll will be held from 3 to 5 p.m.Organizers say the event is held to call attention to the cost of the militarized federal budget. Literature on how tax dollars are spent will be available to people as the vote in the penny poll.

According to National Priorities Project, www.nationalpriorities.org, 55.2 percent of tax dollars are spent on defense. Only 6.2 percent go to education, 5.6 percent to veterans benefits, 4.9 percent to health, and 3.3 percent to energy and environment. Seacoast Peace Response and N.H. Peace Action are participating in “Move the Money,” a national campaign to reduce military spending by at least 25 percent and to move the money into local programs that meet human needs. The U.S. currently spends more on its military than all other countries combined, according to organizers.

The Penny Poll is a large display board with options for people to place pennies, provided by the group, in the categories they think tax money should be spent. Some options include veterans benefits, environmental protection, housing and health care. In last year’s Penny poll, health care received the most votes with environmental protection close behind.

Seacoast Peace Response is a community group based in Portsmouth since 2001. It is dedicated to promoting peace and justice worldwide. For more information, visit www.seacoastpeaceresponse.org.

For more information on the event, call Bill Woodward at 866-3254, visit www.peace-action.org or join the worldwide Global Day of Action on Military Spending on April 15 by visiting demilitarize.org/organizers-packet.

GDAMS in Good News Agency !

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Good News Agency publishes positive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the work of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations and institutions. It has published the March 2014 edition of its Newsletter where the  Pax Christi International’s call to Faith -based organizations to join the GDAMS campaign is highlighted along with links to documents that could be used for planning various actions.

To see the page on GDAMS in Good News Agency Newsletter, Click here.

Click here to find the links to the documents in the GDAMS section of the Newsletter.

 

One hundred billion dollars for nuclear weapons; one billion people in extreme poverty

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GENEVA– Nine states spend over US$100 billion per year on their nuclear weapons, while projections indicate that by 2015 about one billion people will be living on an income of less than US$1.25 per day, the World Bank’s measure of extreme poverty. The use of those weapons would wreak havoc to the global economy, undermine sustainable development, and increase existing inequalities. Click to continue reading the  media release of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

 

 

International Press Communiqué: Burning a hole in our budget!

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Geneva, 11 April 2013. On 15 April, over 100 organisations all over the world will (for the third time) come together for the Global Day of Action on Military Spending. This coordinated global effort constitutes a civil society movement for change.

The current economic crisis has put pressure on governments to reduce spending on essential human needs: confronting climate change, battling deadly diseases, achieving the Millennium Development Goals. But with some exceptions, national governments continue to waste enormous resources on the military. 

Figures from the 2011 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) annual report show that the world’s governments devote more public money than ever on the military: $1,738 billion per year. If spent differently, this would go a long way to resolving the real and immediate challenges facing our planet.

 On 15 April, SIPRI will announce the military spending figures for 2012. It is also Tax Day in the USA, a traditional time for awareness-raising actions on how much of the US budget is spent on defence and funding wars overseas, while the Administration is cutting back on taxpayers’ social services. Given the ongoing budget crisis debate, there is bound to be a huge interest among the general public. Read more…

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