International Solidarity

As the arms trade is international, so is our resistance.

The arms fair is set to take place in London’s Docklands but the weapons sold here will end up in the hands of authoritarian rulers and invading armies across the world. The last time the arms fair took place in 2015, hundreds of international exhibitors set up shop to sell arms to delegations from the over sixty countries invited to attend by the UK government, including human-rights abusers and six countries actually at war. War starts here. But as the arms trade is international, so is our resistance. An international movement is growing and resisting arms fairs the world over. We are joining together in solidarity to say: War stops here.

On Sunday 10th September, activists from War Resisters’ International will be leading a public education day on the arms trade at the gates of the arms fair. This is a great chance to hear from antimilitarist activists from around the world, including from countries where the repercussions of the weapons marketed at DSEI will be felt. There will be talks and workshops on campaign strategy, nonviolent direct action, creative campaigning and using legal mechanisms to disrupt the flow of arms to conflict zones. Find out more here.

19 posts

Colombia and its Military Suppliers at DSEI

9 September 2013
    (Riot police in Bogota, Colombia- photograph by Oneris Rico) The last six months were apparently the bloodiest on record for human rights workers in war-torn Colombia, a country which has been ravaged by internal conflict for nearly half a century. The national watchdog group ‘Somos Defensores’ reports that thirty-seven human rights workers were killed between...

Everything you ever wanted to know about the arms fair

7 September 2013
Over the past few months, we’ve collected some gems on our blog. Naturally, we didn’t want you to miss out, so see below for a categorised list of posts to whet your lips before the arms fair starts… Intersections with other struggles Palestine: The UK’s dirty secrets: Palestine and the arms trade // Israel’s booming...
Placard with red heart on it reads, 'Unite today for Turkey'. Held against the London skyline, against a cloudy sky

How London Gezi linked to Stop the Arms Fair

3 September 2013
Article written by Ozlem Atik, London Gezi A group of people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds and political views came together during the Gezi -Taksim resistance. They did not and do not represent a political party or any other organization. In support of the Gezi movement they organised flashmobs, protests, workshops, and started to interact...

Arms, oil and Algeria – Are EU gas supplies more important than human rights?

30 August 2013
This September, a delegation from Algeria is expected to attend the DSEI arms fair in London at the invitation of the UK government. The country has a long record of carrying out human rights abuses against political dissidents and human rights defenders. Here is an article by Hamza Hamouchene, currently researching the UK’s energy interests...
Stop the Arms Fair logo

The UK’s dirty secrets: Palestine and the arms trade

23 April 2013
“Israel’s largest comparative advantage is in military products, because these demand advanced technology on one hand and military experience on the other…no country in the world is as dependent on arms sales as Israel. The Jaffa orange is fast being edged out of the public consciousness by the Uzi submachine gun as Israel’s major export....
Stop the Arms Fair logo

Action against the arms fair in 2011

19 December 2011
Arming repressive regimes. Boosting arms company profits. Displaying the latest killing technology. The world’s biggest arms fair – DSEI – took place in East London in September 2011. In 2011, we witnessed more of the horror that comes when the UK arms repressive regimes — armoured vehicles used to suppress protest in Libya and Bahrain...
Stop the Arms Fair logo

Free Movement for People, not Weapons!

7 September 2017
All day
ExCeL Centre, Eastern Entrance, Royal Albert Way London
Stop the Arms Fair logo

Stop Arming Israel (Day 1 – Week of Action, Stop the Arms Fair 2019)

2 September 2019
09:30 - 20:00
ExCeL Centre, Eastern Entrance, Royal Albert Way London