Please come to a webinar organised by SCRAP Weapons that will showcase strategies for reducing military spending in light of the Ukraine crisis. The webinar will be held on 22nd April, as part of the International Peace Bureau’s 2022 Global Days on Military Spending (GDAMS).

What does Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine mean for global military preparedness and spending? Should countries increase their military spending, or build worldwide sustainable security by honouring their commitments to general and complete disarmament?

The SCRAP Weapons webinar will outline practical proposals for realising disarmament commitments. It will introduce SCRAP Weapons’ Framework for a Treaty on General and Complete Disarmament, and detail the Global Weapons Tracking Service– a portal to organisations tracking weapons, weapon uses and other threats to human security, designed to contribute to transparency about global patterns of proliferation and disarmament.

Such considerations are needed now more than ever. In these unprecedented times, the world has been horrified by the levels of violence inflicted against Ukraine, along with Russia’s statements about nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Alongside this, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to demonstrate that governments have failed to invest sufficiently in their public health infrastructure, while prioritising spending on military modernisation, procurement and operations.

Presentations will be delivered by SCRAP Weapons’ team:

Dan Plesch (Project Director), Eloisa Romani (Project Coordinator), Henrietta Wilson (Lead Researcher, Global Weapons Tracking) and Zahraa Kapasi (Operations Manager).