Like many people in the UK, I am fortunate enough to have lived a sheltered childhood and to have had a loving family who have always been there to support me.  I grew up thinking that that was normal and that every child was the same.     But I was shocked and appalled when I first heard that some children around the world are forced to grow up in a society plagued by conflict and gun violence - a society that forces...

See Banky's original image Pictures released as negotiations for a new Arms Trade Treaty unfold in New York Iconic artwork by graffiti artist Banksy has come to life to support an Oxfam campaign to regulate the weapons trade which kills one person every minute. News photographer Nick Stern, who has seen first-hand the devastating effect of armed violence, has recreated two of the artists' famous works using...

Yesterday, Oxfam and Amnesty International UK drove a tank around central London, startling passers-by and even getting stopped by the police for a documentation check. Just days away from the start of the United Nations Diplomatic Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty in New York, (2-27 July) the tank journey in London was part of a global day of action for the Control Arms campaign. Thousands of campaigners from around the world...

When you spend most of your day sitting in an office, eyes fixed on the computer screen, or stuck in the library trying to understand your essay question (let alone answer it), it can be difficult to think outside the box. As an activist, thinking inside the box provides the fascinating strategy of 'get petition, sign petition, share petition', which, unsurprisingly, doesn't do much for a campaign. So, despite the fact that we have...

In 2006, you persuaded 153 governments to begin work on a global Arms Trade Treaty. But the job is not done and there is a real danger that governments agree a treaty that is too weak. We need your help to get negotiations back on track. ...