Around the world, between April 14 and May 3rd, people observed the Global Day(s) of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS), advocating for the re-directing of military spending towards human development and climate change mitigation. The Canadian government’s annual military spending over the next eight years will increase from the current $28 billion to $32.7 billion and a proposed increase of 70% over the next twenty years. This military expenditure will be directed for warships, fighter jets, armed drones and other military hardware. It is a forgone conclusion that the impact from war has a devastating impact on the environment. In the words of the former UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, ‘the world is over-armed, and peace is underfunded’, underscoring the global imbalance in the allocation of resources between military spending and expenditures on social and environmental causes, such as the UN’s global set of Sustainable Development Goals. Goals designed to ensure clean water, quality education, gender equality, elimination of poverty. I strongly believe that this change can happen through global disarmament and demilitarisation. I believe that through conflict resolution, multi-stakeholder diplomacy, meaningful dialogue, shared leadership and collaborative consultation, societies can move away from militarism, wars and conflict towards a sustainable peace. I believe that we can fulfil our obligations to future generations for net zero-carbon-emissions and a peaceful world. I believe that by re-redirecting the billions spent on the military industrial complex, to social programs, the basic needs of the majority of people on our planet can be met. Peace, social and environmental justice, human security cannot be brought about through bombs and armaments.
Hannah Hadkin,
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace,
Nelson