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Dear friends,
We saw incredible actions take place over the last month - thousands
marched in Glasgow for climate justice for COP26 and campaigners in Malvern
protested the 3CDSE arms fair as "farmers, not fighters". Boris Johnson,
nominated by CAAT, was deservedly named a TOP SPOILER OF PEACE IN YEMEN
under the category "Arming the parties to the conflict". Read more below!
Taking Action at COP26
The last fortnight has seen communities around the world coming together to
demand climate justice and our activists and supporters across the UK
joined them in linking militarism and the climate crisis. Read about the
latest report from CEOBS that details the under-reporting of Global
Military Carbon Emissions [1].
Anti-Militarism Rally
On Thursday 4th November our friends at World Beyond War organised an
anti-militarism rally in Glasgow, where COP is taking place, which saw
hundreds of people gather to hear from frontline communities and academics
on the impact of militarism on the environment.
CAAT supporters from Scotland and beyond joined the rally to highlight the
UK Government's role in fuelling the climate crisis which causes
instability, and governments use this to justify more military spending
which in turn causes more emissions - a vicious cycle that has to end now.
Global Day of Action
Over 100,000 people took to the streets of Glasgow on Saturday 6th November
to march through the city and anti-militarism groups came together to form
a bloc including CAAT, Code Pink, Scottish CND, World Beyond War and others
where we highlighted the UK Government's planned spending of hundreds of
billions on military spending and a comparably tiny amount tackling the
climate crisis.
It is striking that the maximum spending estimate for achieving the UK's
climate change targets is around the same level as what the government
considers to be the bare minimum requirement for military spending; that
the government fails to devote even half this sum to addressing the climate
crisis represents a gross distortion of priorities, reflecting in turn a
fundamentally flawed understanding of security. Read more in our report
'Fighting the Wrong Battles'. [2]
Outside of Glasgow, North East Scotland CAAT held a pre-COP rally which
drew crowds from across Aberdeen and beyond to hear from a range of
speakers and musicians about the actions they can take locally to combat
the climate crisis and called the MPs and MSPs present to reduce military
funding.
Spoilers of Peace Award
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies [3] (CIHRS) held an "awards
ceremony" on 2nd November for the top "Spoilers of Peace [4]" in the war in
Yemen [5] - those who are doing most to perpetuate the war, cause death and
suffering, and obstruct efforts to bring peace. UK Prime Minister Boris
Johnson, nominated by CAAT, was named the top Spoiler of Peace [6] in the
category "Arming the parties to the conflict". You can read our evidence
against Boris Johnson here [7].
Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen (GEE)
In October the United Nations Human Rights Council failed to renew the
mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen (GEE) - the only
international and impartial body investigating serious violations and
abuses by all parties to the armed conflict in Yemen. Following an intense
lobbying campaign led by Saudi Arabia, 21 of the 47 members of the Council
voted against the renewal of the GEE's mandate [8] and eight States
abstained or did not cast a vote for the renewal.
This extremely disappointing outcome illustrates that the failure of arms
exporting countries, including the UK, to hold Saudi Arabia to account has
bred impunity for all violations and abuses of human rights in Yemen.
Coming up
Join our partners Rethinking Security on 18th November as they launch
their Alternative Security Review [9]. They will be asking people in local
communities what makes them feel secure and creates well being, rather than
the military "solutions" put forward by Governments.
In the news
Campaigners in Malvern [10] from dozens of groups told the Three Counties
Showground not to host the 3CDSE arms fair, saying they were "farmers, not
fighters". Rebecca from 3C-CAAT said the Showground needs to "support farms
and food into the future, not a trade that fuels oppression and warfare."
Reminder: Over the next few months, CAAT will be carrying out a root and
branch review of how we operate. During this period, we will be reducing
our activity to reflect our current lower capacity. Read more about this on
our website [11] and we thank you for your patience and understanding. Our
local groups are still taking brilliant action across the UK so if you
still want to get involved in your local area please get in touch [12]!
Thank you for your support.
Katie Fallon
CAMPAIGN AGAINST ARMS TRADE
[13]
P.S. We would not be able to continue our work if not for every donation by
supporters like you, so if you are able, please consider donating to CAAT
[14] so we can continue to fund amazing actions like those seen in Malvern
and Glasgow. If that is not possible, consider forwarding this email to a
friend and share our work as widely as possible.
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