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.

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'.

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 (CIHRS) held an “awards ceremony” on 2nd November for the top "Spoilers of Peace" in the war in Yemen - 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 in the category “Arming the parties to the conflict“. You can read our evidence against Boris Johnson here.

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 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. 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 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 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!

Thank you for your support.

Katie Fallon
Campaign Against Arms Trade

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 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.