Efforts to forge a global ceasefire a “catastrophic failure”, says Oxfam Ireland

$1.9 trillion in military spending would have paid for UN COVID-19 appeal 280 times over
Despite moves to support global ceasefire, international arms sales continue

In its new report “Conflict in the time of Coronavirus”, Oxfam today showed that acts of aggression and fighting by parties across many conflict-torn countries continues unabated. This is compounded by a diplomatic failure at the UN Security Council, years of weak investment into peace-building efforts, and arms continuing to flow into conflict zones.

Jim Clarken, Chief Executive of Oxfam Ireland said: “As Ireland aspires to a seat on the UN Security Council, now is the time to show leadership in calling for peace. Support for a ceasefire now needs to move beyond rhetoric and into practice.

“There has been a catastrophic failure by the international community to forge a global ceasefire in order for countries in conflict – and the world at large – to stop the coronavirus spreading in some of the most fragile places on earth.

“We expect leadership from the Council as well the countries who say they support a ceasefire, but who nevertheless remain active participants in conflicts around the world, conducting military operations, selling arms and supporting third parties.

“In the last year alone, the international community topped $1.9 trillion in military spending. This would have paid for the UN’s coronavirus appeal 280 times over.”

On Friday 8 May, the US finally refused to vote on a UN resolution for a global ceasefire. Oxfam says that this was merely the latest of a litany of failures that are sustaining conflicts at a time when peace and international cooperation is needed.

Ongoing conflict jeopardises the health of entire communities. At the precise moment in history when the need for international cooperation has never been greater, two billion people living in fragile and conflict-affected states are now at increased risk from this global pandemic. People who are already trapped in areas where health systems are crippled and hospitals bombed, or who have been forced to flee in their millions to overcrowded camps where conditions are a perfect breeding ground for the virus.

A Yemeni woman peace activist and Oxfam partner in Aden said: “I fear that the ceasefire will take place after the Covid-19 virus will spread, so what would be the benefit of peace to a land without a people?”

Gansonré Fatimata, in Kaya, Burkina Faso, said: “Since the onset of Covid-19, everything has been blocked. We can no longer go out, we can no longer regroup; we have stopped our small activities. Life has become harder, I'm scared. There is a double fear, insecurity, and the virus itself. Before Covid-19, we struggled to find something to eat, now it’s worse”.

Some of the cases outlined in Oxfam’s report include:

In the Central African Republic, the UN has just announced suspension of its humanitarian response in the areas where armed groups have broken the ceasefire amid a surge of violence, in spite of the UN’s peace appeal, and 14 armed groups signing a peace agreement with the government on February 2019.
In Myanmar, the army has rejected domestic and international calls for a comprehensive ceasefire as fighting in Rakhine state increased, with frequent airstrikes and shelling in populated areas. Across Rakhine, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced, often living in overcrowded shelters with extremely limited access to health care. Close to one million people are cut off from the internet when information about the virus is lifesaving.
Saudi Arabia announced a two-week unilateral ceasefire in Yemen from 9 April and later extended it a month but fighting continues by all sides in the conflict. Barely half of Yemen’s health facilities are still working and there have been over 100,000 suspected cases of cholera this year.
In Colombia, the rebel ELN have declared a ceasefire but other armed groups and the government has not.
In Afghanistan, the intra-Afghan peace negotiations scheduled in March have been delayed and the Taliban is refusing a ceasefire without the government reciprocating.
In Burkina Faso, on-going violence means that people are often unable to access essentials such as water, healthcare, and food. Restrictions put in place to prevent the transmission of the virus has made it even more of a challenge.
In South Sudan, some peace building funding has been paused by donors, who are prioritizing the coronavirus response above all else.

Clarken went on to say: “Decades of conflict have devastated the health systems and economies of war-torn countries, leaving two billion people vulnerable to diseases like the coronavirus. We all know that containing and managing this virus is hard enough when a country is at peace, so fuelling conflict on top of a pandemic is reprehensible.

“Arms exporting countries must stop feeding conflict and instead make every effort to pressure warring parties to agree to a global ceasefire and invest in peace efforts that can bring a meaningful end to conflict.”

Clarken concluded: “To citizens around the world – demand that your political leaders deliver on the global ceasefire, in solidarity with people across the world and for a more peaceful and sustainable future for us all.”

Ends

Contact Information

Caroline Reid | caroline.reid@oxfam.org | +353 (0) 87 912 3165

Alice Dawson-Lyons | alice.dawsonlyons@oxfam.org | +353 (0) 83 198 1869

Notes to Editors

Full Report: Conflict in the Times of Coronavirus

Against the backdrop of the coronavirus:

o The UK’s BAE systems flew a cargo plane to Saudi Arabia in late April.

o Russia has advance orders for heavy tracked tanks which were tested in Syria.

o France continues to fuel the war in Yemen by selling arms to Saudi Arabia.

o Germany authorised the sale of a submarine to Egypt in April.

o Last month Canada lifted its suspension on arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

Oxfam is scaling up its programmes to help 14 million people in nearly 50 countries across the globe to fight the virus. Focusing on some of the hardest-hit conflict zones, including Yemen, DRC and Burkina Faso, Oxfam is providing hygiene and clean water, health awareness, support to hospitals as well as cash to families displaced by the conflict to buy food and basic necessities.
Flight tracking data shows a Bae Systems 737 cargo plane flew from that company’s factory at Warton in the UK to King Fahd airbase in Saudi Arabia via a UK military airbase in Akrotiri, Cyprus on 23 April. Saudi Arabia has led a coalition of nations backing the internationally recognised government in Yemen in its war with the Houthis for over five years.
The Canadian government has renegotiated a controversial multibillion-dollar contract that will see an Ontario-based company sell light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia.
It’s been widely reported that the German government authorised the delivery of a range of military equipment by manufacturer Thyssen Krupp on 1 April, including a submarine to Egypt which has been involved in the naval blockade of Yemen as part of the Saudi coalition.
The Russian Minister of Industry and Trade said in mid-April that its T-14 tank had been tested in Syria.
The current UN appeal to respond to the Coronavirus is $6.7bn according to the UN. Two billion people are living in conflict affected states according to UN Global Humanitarian Overview 2019.
France arms sales to the conflict in Yemen have not stopped
Oxfam’s life-saving assistance, including the country’s biggest water-distribution network outside of Bangui in the Central African Republic, could be halted due to the surge of violence and the UN stopping of operations.