Who we are

About us

The Global Campaign on Military Spending (GCOMS) is an international campaign founded in December 2014 and promoted by the International Peace Bureau after the five Global Days of Action (GDAMS), which has been an annual occurrence since 2011. The main aim is to reduce the global military spending thanks to the cooperative works made by the organisations of civil society.

Nowadays, more the 100 organizations from 35 different nations have joined the campaign.

Who We are

The GCOMS is run by a steering group of activists from all over world, and is coordinated by the Center of Peace Studies – J.M.Delàs, in Barcelona as a decentralized office of IPB. It works through its members to change government policy and practice on military spending.

Thanks to this campaign, new partnerships were formed and new issues addressed. In particular, the Climate Change agreement (COP 21) and the consecration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN General Assembly were given a considerable amount of focus over the past year. IPB and its GCOMS partners consistently supported the notion that much of the money locked into the military sector should – and given political will – could be made available for such purposes.

By the end of 2015 it was becoming clear that a third area would also be requiring major investments: humanitarian crises. This issue was addressed in the May 2016 World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) in Istanbul. In addition to this, it is important for the campaign to advocate the redirecting of funds to the peace and disarmament sectors as well as in public services such as health and education. IPB calls these the ‘five directions’ in which military resources could be rechanneled through the following fields of action:

1. Peace, disarmament, conflict prevention and resolution, human security;
2. Sustainable development and anti-poverty programmes;
3. Climate change and biodiversity loss – for mitigation and adaptation;
4. Social programmes, human rights, gender equality and green job-creation;
5. Humanitarian efforts to assist refugees, migrants and other vulnerable populations.

The Global Campaign on Military Spending is not limited to advocacy to military budget cuts, it also promotes:

• Conversion to a civilian-oriented economy;
• An end to military research;
• Technological development to actively promote peace;
• Creating opportunities to implement humanistic solutions and sustainability in general;
• Development, cooperation, prevention and resolution of violent conflicts;
• Demilitarisation;
• New ways of thinking for all.

Read more in the GCOMS Brochure