Conflict and disaster

Get a gun off the street[Photo credit: Brian Moody]

Conflicts and disasters are frequent, but their devastating impact on ordinary people can often be avoided.

Why campaign?

For developing countries, conflicts and disasters are central to why they remain trapped in poverty. Millions of innocent lives are threatened or turned upside down by conflicts and disasters every year.

People are often directly affected by horrific violence or can be forced into joining armed groups. They lose their homes and livelihoods in disasters and this is made worse by poverty.

We have the power to change this. We can influence our governments and show solidarity with people in conflict and disaster. We can demonstrate that the world does not forget, but takes on the responsibility to help so that their situation will improve..

What are we asking for?

We need to make governments take responsibility for protecting and assisting civilians during crisis. Governments must uphold international obligations such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions.

Governments have now agreed to start negotiations on an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to stop the uncontrolled and global flow of arms that affects thousands every year. Over the next two years we need to make sure they agree a full and comprehensive Treaty.

The story so far

To protect people against conflict, the Control Arms campaign has encouraged civil society to come together to press for an ATT, which aims to put global, legally-binding controls on the arms trade. The achievement has been great. Campaigners have rallied and the UN is now working towards an ATT. Find out more about the Control Arms campaign..

To reduce the impact of disasters, Oxfam is protecting vulnerable people by lobbying for rich countries to pay money for adaptation to protect people's livelihoods, help with disaster prediction and build defenses. Action taken by Bangladesh after the 1972 Super Cyclone, which killed millions of people, has meant the death toll from subsequent super cyclones in Bangladesh is now much lower. But there is so much more to do. Find out more from the Right to Survive report.