GDAMS Appeal: Reduce Military Spending, Defend People and the Planet

The world spent $1.98 trillion on the military in 2020*, a 2.6% increase over the previous year and the highest figure since the end of the Cold War. Our governments’ ever-growing military capacities, in the name of national security, have proved themselves completely useless to defend people from the COVID-19 pandemic, nor can they keep us safe in the face of other global emergencies such as climate change. In addition, as the victims of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere can testify, militarism makes conflicts worse rather than resolving them.

Current levels of military spending not only fail to provide true security, but they actually stand in the way of just and comprehensive solutions to the problems urgently demanding our attention. Indeed, the military power our rulers are so committed to -including new great power Cold Wars – helps create and sustain the very emergencies, tensions and injustice that they claim they are protecting their populations against.

We therefore demand that governments across the globe drastically reduce their military expenditures, especially those accounting for the largest shares of the world’s total spending, and reallocate the freed-up resources to human and common security-oriented sectors, notably for confronting the coronavirus pandemic and the eco-social collapse we are now facing.

Now is the time for a reset of our priorities as societies, and a new defense and security paradigm that puts human and environmental needs in the center of policies and budgets.

We need to defund the military if we are to defend people and the planet.

To endorse our appeal as an individual or as an organization please go to our form on action network.

You can also read this Appeal in Spanish, French, Catalan, Italian, and Korean.

The list of Organisations endorsing this appeal is the following (last updated April 29) :

Abingdon Peace Group (GB)

Accademia Apuana della Pace (IT)

Acción Colectiva de Objetores y Objetoras de Conciencia (CO)

ACPP (ES)

ACT4DEM ry (FIN)

Actions for development and empowerment (CM)

Acción Directa No Violenta (ES)
Alternatives to Violence (AU)

Alianza Iberoamericana por la Paz (Intl)

Alianza por la Solidaridad- ActionAid            (ES)

Alternativa Antimilitarista.Moc (ES)

American Friends Service Committee (US)

Aotearoa New Zealand Campaign on Military Spending (NZ)

APDHA (ES)

Arab Human Security Network (KW)

Asociación de Desarrollo Solidario “Yachaywasi de Tablada” (PE)

Asociación Española de Investigación para la Paz (AIPAZ)           (ES)

Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (CY)

AssoPacePalestina.org (IT)

Auckland Peace Action (NZ)

Australia Solidarity with Latin America (AU)

Bake Ekintza (ES)

Beati i costruttori di pace (Blessed Are the Peacemakers) (IT) 
Brisbane Combined Union’s Choir (AU)

Campaign Against the Arms Trade – CAAT (UK)

Campaign for International Cooperation and Disarmament (AU)

Campaign for Peace Disarmament and Common Security (US)

Campaigns and Policy Lead, Medact           (GB)

Campaña No soy arma de Guerra Nariño (CO)

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (CA)

Cátedra UNESCO de Filosofía para la Paz (Universitat Jaume I) (ES)

Cátedra UNESCO de Resolución de Conflictos (Universidad de Córdoba)           (ES)

CEMEA DEL MEZZOGIORNO (IT)

Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau (ES)

Centro di Documentazione del Manifesto Pacifista Internazionale-International Peace Poster Documentation Center (IT)

CGIL (IT)

CGT (ES)

Chair of Friends for Peace Building and Conflict Prevention           (CA)

Chesterfield CND (GB)

CODEPINK (US)

Colectivo de acompañamiento psicosocial SanAcción (CO)

Colectivo de artivistas Co-inspirAndo (CO)

Convergencia de Saberes y Acción Territorial (CO)

Coordinadora d’ONGD i aMS de Lleida (ES)

Corruption Tracker Project (GB)

Demospaz (ES)

Desarma Madrid (ES)

Ecologistas en Acción            (ES)

Ekklesia (GB)

El Movimiento de Educadores por la Paz de Uruguay (UR)

Envirobusiness International  (AU)

Equality & Civil Rights Network (GB)

Escola de Cultura de Pau (ES)

Escuelas de Paz (CO)

European Network Against Arms Trade (ENAAT) (Intl)
Extinction Rebellion Barcelona (ES)

Foro de Asociaciones de Educación en Derechos Humanos y por la Paz (ES)

Friends Peace Teams (AU)

FUHEM (ES)

Fundación Cultura de Paz (ES)

FundiPau (ES)

GAMIP (AR)

Gernika Gogoratuz (ES)

Global Campaign for Peace Education (US)

Grup Eirene (ES)

Grupo Antimilitarista de Carabanchel           (ES)

Grupo de Noviolencia Elaia (ES)

GSsA – Groupe pour une Suisse sans armée (CH)

Hamilton Coalition (CA)

High Peak Green New Deal (GB)

Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition (Toronto)           (CA)

Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (AU)

Inter Alia (GR)

International association for peace and development in africa (US)

International No to war – No to NATO network (Intl)

Italian Peace and Disarmament Network (IT)

Just Peace (AU)

Just Peace Queensland (AU)

Joint Churches Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Program (AU)

Justice Coalition (US)

Juventud Rebelde Colombia (CO)

Kenya Pastoralist Journalist Network           (KE)

Korea Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace (US)

Lafede.cat (Catalan Fereation of Global Justice Organizations) (ES)

La Central Única de los trabajadores de Uruguay – PIT/CNT. 2- La Federación (UR)

La Comisión de CULTURA DEL PIT/CNT (UR)

Le Moteur des Cent Sans (BE)

London Campaign Against Arms Trade (GB)

Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives (US)

Lower Hudson Valley Advocacy Team, FCNL (US)
MAPALAD KA Network (PH)

Massachusetts Peace Action (US)

Methodist Federation for Social Action (US)

Michiana War Tax Refusers (US)

MIR Movimento Internazionale della Riconciliazione           (IT)

Mouvement de la Paix (FR)

Movement for Abolition of War (GB)

Movimiento Antimilitarista Colombia (CO)

Movimiento hijos e hijas por la memoria y contra la impunidad (CO)

Mujeres de Negro contra la Guerra – Madrid (ES)

National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (USA) (US)

Nonviolence International (US)

Nonviolence International Canada (CA)

North East Scotland CND (GB)

Norwegian Peace Council (NO)

Nouveaux Droits de l’Homme Cameroun (CA)

NUCLEAR FREE PHILIPINAS (PH)

Oregon Community of War Tax Resisters (US)

Palestinian BDS National Committee – BNC (Intl)
Partido Manggagawa Women (PH)

Pax Christi International (Int)

Pax Christi Canada (CA)

Pax Christi Italia (IT)

Pax Christi Torino (IT)

Pax Christi Vlaanderen (BE)

Peace & Justice (Scotland) (SC)

Peace Action (INT)

Peace Action (US)

Peace Action Maine (US)

Peace Action New York State (US)

Peace Action of Wisconsin (US)

Peace Boat (JP)

Peace Movement Aotearoa (NZ)

Peace Union of Finland (FIN)
Peace Women Partners (PH)
Peace Wave Philippines (PH)

PEACEMOMO (KR)

People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) (KR)

Percorsi di pace (IT)

Plataforma por la Desobediencia Civil (ES)

Punto pace Pax Christi Catania, Italy (IT)

Ramstein Kampagne  (GE)

Red Antimilitarista de América Latina y el Caribe (RAMALC) (Intl)

REDESSCAN (ES)

Rete Italiana per il Disarmo (IT)

Reti di pace (IT)

Rohi Foundation (US)

Santiago City Kiteflying Group

Servei Civil Internacional de Catalunya – SCI (ES)

Scientists for Global Responsibility (GB)

Stop Fuelling War (FR)

STOP the War Coalition Philippines (PH)
SM Zone One Tondo Organization

Suds (ES)

Suomen rauhanpuolustajat ry           (FIN)

The Disarmament and Security Centre NZ)

The Foundation for Justice and Development Initiatives (FJDI) (UG)

The Global Sunrise Project    CA

The Irish Peace and Neutrality Alliance (IR)

The Maitriyana Buddhist Community            (IND)

The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth – NNOMY (US)

The Peace center in Aarhus  DK

The Peace Party – Non-violence, Justice, Environment (GB)

The Peace-movement of Esbjerg (DK)

Tipping Point North South (GB)

Toronto Association for Peace & Solidarity (CA)

United for Peace and Justice (US)

Uniting for Peace (GB)

Uruguaya del Magisterio (Trabajadores de Educación Primaria (FUM/TEP) (UR)

USTEA Ecolo. Cádiz  (ES)

V.A.S. (VERDI AMBIENTE E SOCIETA) (IT)

Veterans For Peace (US)

Wage Peace (AU)

War Resisters International (Intl)

War Resisters League (US)

Whatcom Peace & Justice Center (US)

WILPF – Italia cc (IT)

WILPF España – Liga Internacional de Mujeres por la Paz y la Libertad (ES)

Women Against Nuclear Power (FIN)

Women for Peace and Ecology (GE)

Women’s Action for New Directions (US)

Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom – NZ (NZ)

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (US)

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – Canada (CA)

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom GB (GB)

World BEYOND War (Intl)

World Youth Peace Organization (NG)

Yorkshire Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (GB)

Yugo sport & art association  (RS)

ZOTO Youth (PH)

*This figure has been updated with the most recent data available at the SIPRI military expenditure database.