The Liberal Democrat party conference voted to include an “end to Government promotion of and support for the arms trade including shutting the export promotion unit, the UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation” (UKTI DSO) and ending export credits for military goods” in the party’s policy on international development.
Fantastic news from Campaign Against the Arms Trade:
The closure of the government’s arms sales unit is now Liberal Democrat party policy!
The Liberal Democrat party conference voted to include an “end to Government promotion of and support for the arms trade including shutting the export promotion unit, the UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation” (UKTI DSO) and ending export credits for military goods” in the party’s policy on international development.
Why does it matter?
UKTI DSO is a taxpayer-funded unit that helps arms companies sell weapons to areas of conflict, repressive regimes and to countries with major development needs. All the political parties have said they want to end arms sales to dangerous regimes – but few have yet recognised that closing the department that promotes such sales is an essential first step to achieving this!
We look forward to seeing how this decision influences the actions of the coalition government.
The vote that approved this policy was very close. That means we do need to keep getting the word out there. But it also shows that our action creates change. In May, CAAT supporters sent thousands of letters to put this issue on the agenda for parliamentary candidates ahead of the general election – and this weekend some of these candidates turned up to provide those vital extra votes. Thank you!
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