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“Do
Quakers Support
The
Arms Trade?”
THIS MAY SEEM LIKE AN
ABSURD QUESTION. But insofar as Friends are taxpayers, then the
answer is “Yes!”
Large amounts of public money
go to support UK arms exports. A report by Oxford Research Group (ORG)
and Saferworld (The Subsidy Trap. 2001) estimates a net subsidy for military
exports of £420 million. Others, including Campaign Against
Arms Trade, estimate even higher figures.
Ways in which the UK Government
supports arms exports include:
-
Export Credit Guarantees:
taxpayers money is used to provide cheap loans for buyers and insurance
for exporting companies to cover defaults by buyers.
-
Marketing and Promotion:
the Defence Export Services Organisation, part of the Ministry of Defence,
has offices and staff around the world through which it sells UK military
equipment and services.
ORG/Saferworld give a conservative
estimate that each defence export job is annually subsidised by £4,200,
and that over the UK defence industry as a whole, the annual subsidy paid
by the taxpayer is £12,300 per job.
“Even though arms exports
only account for around 2% of UK exports, it is the most heavily subsidised
sector in the UK economy apart from agriculture. UK tax-payers foot
the bill for these subsidies, which amount to around £30 per taxpayer.”
Campaign Against Arms Trade
While one fifth of the world's
population subsists on less than $1 a day, astronomical amounts are spent
on preparations for war. In 2000, the UK licensed military exports
to 30 of the 40 most repressive regimes in the world. Arms exports
fuel wars, support governments that abuse human rights, and increase worldwide
problems of poverty and debt.
So
what can we do about arms trade subsidies?
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RAISE AWARENESS about
Government support for arms exports. "The degree of subsidy ...will
surprise most people, and open a more public debate on whether this is
an appropriate use of public money." (Air Marshal Sir Tim Garden).
-
VOICE CONCERN to politicians
and other key people. Northern Friends Peace Board promotes materials
and workshops on dialogue with decision-makers, which may assist you in
this.
Extract of letter from
NFPB to Chancellor of the Exchequer. Gordon Brown:
“Our concern is fundamentally
based on moral grounds, in that we object to the use of public money in
promoting arms exports which can fuel armed conflicts and exacerbate problems
of poverty and debt in recipient countries. For example we
note with alarm the current dramatic increase in the level of UK arms exports
to Africa.
Northern Friends Peace Board
supports the proposal that the Public Accounts Committee should instigate
an enquiry into the appropriateness of using public funds to subsidise
arms exports.”
Church action – “A
Call to Conversion”
NFPB, along with other church
groups and leaders, has endorsed the Call to Conversion statement issued
in April by CAAT Christian Network and Pax Christi. This campaign aims
to:
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encourage Christian Communities
to engage in critical reflection and response to the
impact of the arms trade on our world
-
call upon the Government to
end economic and industrial dependence on the arms trade and to end
financial and political support for the arms trade.
Extract from the “Call
to Conversion” statement:
As Christians we are called to be peacemakers. Yet as
a nation we are sowing the seeds of war around the world. The proliferation
of weapons does not bring security. Scripture tells us that
real security comes not from weapons but from justice. "Integrity
will bring peace, justice gives everlasting security." (Isaiah 32:17)
In recent years, our churches have made clear statements on the
evils of the arms trade. At the beginning of the UN Decade for a
Culture of Peace and Non-violence for Children of the World, we believe
that this is an opportune moment to begin a process of conversion.
In particular:
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The UK Government must tighten its export Controls
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Government subsidies to arms export companies must end
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The Government should help companies involved in the arms trade
re-orient from military to civil production
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Resources
and action
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ORDER the Shelling Out Arms
Trade Subsidies campaign pack free from Campaign Against Arms Trade (address
below) - information and campaign ideas.
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WRITE to your MP or to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, to express concern at the amount of public
money that is being used to subsidise the arms trade. Guidance on writing
to MPs is included in the "Shelling Out" pack.
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ORDER the Call to Conversion
Resource Pack @ £2.50, also from CAAT - contains the Call to
Conversion Statement, background briefings on Britain's role in the arms
trade, liturgy and action ideas.
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SUPPORT the Stop the Arms
Trade week (8th-16th June) and the Day of Prayer against the arms trade
on Sunday 16th June as a focus for activity - ideas included in the
Call to Conversion pack.
USEFUL ADDRESSES
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Northern
Friends Peace Board
Victoria
Hall, Knowsley Street, Bolton BL1 2AS
Ph:
01204 382330 E: nfpb@gn.apc.org W: www.gn.apc.org/nfpb
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