{"id":16452,"date":"2018-05-11T14:04:53","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T14:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=16452"},"modified":"2024-07-03T16:10:48","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T14:10:48","slug":"the-business-of-war-how-weapons-manufactured-in-europe-help-inflict-harm-in-the-rest-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/16452\/the-business-of-war-how-weapons-manufactured-in-europe-help-inflict-harm-in-the-rest-of-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The Business of War: how weapons manufactured in Europe help inflict harm in the rest of the world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The world spends an estimated  <\/span>$1.7 trillion a year<\/span><\/a> on war<\/span>.<\/span> Just to compare: global humanitarian funding is <\/span>1.3% of that<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), international weapon sales around the world have <\/span>jumped up by 10%<\/span><\/a> in the last four years compared to 2008-12. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Everywhere on our precious planet, easy access to weapons and ammunition has led to human suffering, political repression, crime and terror among civilians.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Figures are difficult to come by in this trade; it\u2019s fraught with secrets and corruption. Arms sales of the world\u2019s 100 largest arms-producing and military services companies (the <\/span>SIPRI Top 100<\/span><\/a>) were estimated at  $375 billion in 2016, but the actual figure is likely to be higher.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n

About three-quarters of these companies are from North America and Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"SIPRI
The world’s biggest arms trade exporters
\u00a9 SIPRI <\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

In 2013, the UN adopted the <\/span>Arms Trade Treaty<\/span><\/a>. On paper, the Treaty was a great thing. It was meant <\/span>to stop the selling of weapons to countries when it was obvious they would be used for genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

But in reality, the treaty\u2019s impact remains limited. The global arms trade is still on the rise and is continuing to supply weapons to some of the most deadly armed conflicts.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Why is this still happening?<\/h3>\n\n

The answer (at least in part) is the military industrial complex; <\/span>the informal alliance between a nation’s military and the arms industry which supplies it, and the impact this alliance has on public policy. Both sides benefit in this relationship\u2014one side from obtaining weapons of war, and the other from being paid to supply them.<\/span><\/p>\n\n