CAAT wins 'Alternative Nobel Prize', condemns UK arms trade

On Friday, the Campaign against Arms Trade, whose supporters include Pax Christi and other Christian peace groups, were presented with a 2012 Right Livelihood Award in the Swedish Parliament. CAAT's acceptance speech highlighted the hypocrisy of a UK government which claims to support human rights, while promoting weapons sales to repressive regimes.

CAAT is one of the four recipients of the Award, known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize, together with Hayrettin Karaca, veteran environmentalist from Turkey, Sima Samar, women's rights campaigner from Afghanistan, and Gene Sharp, scholar of non-violent action. The Right Livelihood Awards are presented just a few days before the Nobel Peace Prize Award, this year controversially awarded to the European Union (EU).

CAAT's speech criticises the UK government's courting of authoritarian regimes to sell arms. It highlights the devastating impact of arms sales and exposes the justifications for arms exports put forward by the government and the arms industry. It shares the ways that a small campaigning organisation has had an impact on the arms trade.

Speaking on behalf of CAAT, Anne-Marie O'Reilly, said: "The arms trade is an evil of our time. It fuels death, destruction and human rights abuses. But it is not a fact of nature. It exists because of decisions governments make, and they can decide differently. We can choose to restrain weapons sales not promote their proliferation; we can choose to put human rights before arms company profits; we can choose to promote industries that support life, not those based on= death. ."

"This award is a testament to the work of thousands of people around the UK whose collective action has managed to expose, challenge and impede the arms trade since we began our work nearly 40 years ago."

Just a month ago, Anne-Marie was active in helping to organise opposition to an event at Church House Conference Centre, attended by representatives of some of the world's largest arms companies. She said: "It is deeply concerning that Church House has agreed to host an arms conference. The Church of England has committed to exclude weapons manufacturers from its investments; we hope it will act to ensure a venue so closely associated with it does not help confer a veneer of legitimacy on that same industry."

On the day of the conference, delegates were met by a peaceful interdenominational protest while hundreds of individuals emailed the Archbishop of Canterbury to express their dismay.

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) in the UK works to end the international arms trade. The arms business has a devastating impact on human rights and society and damages economic development. Large-scale military procurement and arms exports only reinforce a militaristic approach to international problems.