A report published by Amnesty International, IANSA, and Oxfam, for the Control Arms campaign. Published in association with Project Ploughshares, and SaferworldEvery state has a right to self-defence, under Article 51 of the UN Charter. However, the UN Charter also requires all member states to 'promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and freedoms' in order to achieve 'economic and social progress and development' (Articles 1, 55 and 56) and 'to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the world's human and economic resources' (Article 26). The countries of Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East hold 51 per cent of the world's heavy weapons. Excessive or inappropriate arms purchases are a drain on social and economic resources which developing countries simply cannot afford. The Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved without addressing the issue of sustainable development in all aspects of policy, including arms transfers. Both arms importers and exporters must ensure that arms transfers do not undermine sustainable development. For arms exporters, various export-control regimes already include this requirement, as does the proposed Arms Trade Treaty, but few governments fully respect these commitments. Lip service leads to arms falling into the wrong hands and the diversion of scarce resources from fighting poverty. To protect the social and economic rights of poor people, exporting governments must apply an effective and systematic methodology to assess whether proposed arms transfers will affect sustainable development. This report proposes such a methodology, and explains why, excepting legitimate security needs, arms transfers with an adverse impact on sustainable development must not go ahead.

• Summary
• 1. Weighing the costs
• Arms transfers to development: a costly business
• Sustainable development: strong foundations
• The M illennium Development Goals: promises into practice?
• Voice concern
• The need for engagement
• 2. Causes for concern: the impacts of arms transfers on sustainable development
• Opportunity Costs
• Economic growth
• The misuse of arms
• The risk of arms araces: the cumulative impact of arms transfers
• The priorities and realities of importer-government spending
• Identifying the positive impact of arms transfers
• 3. Promises in pieces: sustainable development and arms exports
• Respecting regional and multilateral arrangements
• The absenceof a strong, standard, or accessible methodology
• Lack of transparency
• The importance of 'joined-up government
• 4. Context is critical: investigating the relationship between security, governance, arms imports, and sustainable development
• Government decision making
• Budget processes and development of economic goals
• Budgeting practices
• Government justifications of arms import decisions
• 5. Towards the development of an assessment methodology
• Triggers: identifying transfers of possible concern
• Indicators:information gathering
• Factors: arriving at a judgement
• A holistic strategy
• Appendices
• Appendix 1: Selected foundations for sustainable development
• Appendix 2: Summary of principles of the proposed Arms Trade Treaty
• Appendix 3: Graphic presentation ofproposed methodology for assessing the impact of arms transfers on sustainable development
• Appendix 4: Summary of proposed methodology for assessing the impact of arms transfers on sustainable development
• Notes

Jane Chanaa
Dr Jane Chanaa is a careers adviser for the University of Oxford. Jane has an extensive postgraduate education and her previous roles include teaching both undergraduates and English abroad, and working as a research consultant for a charity