New treaty must avoid leaving 'dangerous loophole'
The prospective new international Arms Trade Treaty must regulate the sale of parts and components being used to maintain or manufacture deadly weapons and military equipment, according to a new report by Oxfam.
The international agency says keeping this area of arms trade out of the Treaty would be "a dangerous loophole". The current lack of regulation of the...
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Professor Jenny Pearce has worked for more than three decades in violent contexts in Latin America and the North of England, here she talks about the role that violence plays in paralysing development.
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What do humanitarian staff do in their spare time? They have fun testing new kit, of course. Matt Carter shares his video of Oxfam water engineers trying their hand at well jetting.
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Senior Gender Adviser Ines Smyth is in Myanmar working on a project which aims to increase resillience to disasters. Here she discusses the realities of working in consoritum with Yangon-based Humanitarian Programme Officer Kyie Soe.
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Empty pharmacy and hospital shelves are so common in Malawi that a phrase has been coined to describe them: 'stock-outs'. However, few would have expected a president to be affected, until the recent death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Here Shenard Mazengera calls for improved transparency, civil society engagement and donor support to help fight the battle for access to medicines for all.
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On Monday 18 June a high level meeting on the Sahel food crisis is being held in Brussels. This is a crucial opportunity for governments to show they are giving their fair share towards the food crisis and investing more in long term solutions to break the hunger cycle in the region.
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In the UK, homelessness on the rise and the number of people relying on food parcels has doubled in the past year. Our research reveals that deep-seated inequality and draconian spending cuts are resulting in the UK's poorest being the hardest hit.
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Microfinance sometimes gets a bad press but SKDRDP, this year's Ashden Gold Award winner, is a well-run microfinance organisation helping to meet the energy needs of low-income households in India.
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When women in mid-western Nepal started attending community discussion classes, designed to promote community engagement, one of the unexpected outcomes was that many went back to school - for many this meant realising a lifelong ambition. Programme Officer Sandhya Shrestha explains more.
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Next week, Senior Gender Adviser Ines Smyth will be in Myanmar working on a new approach to disaster preparation that focuses on capacity rather than their vulnerability. Right now she's still in Oxford and here gives us a glimpse into her work.
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