Manifesto for the campaign Disarm – a part of the network Ofog

Sweden is one the world's biggest weapons manufacturers. In spite of the small size of our country we are still ninth (2007) on the list of the biggest weapons exporters in the world. Sweden manufactures weapons that are used in Iraq among other countries. The Swedish government claims at the same time that they want to work for peace in the world. Not only does Sweden's weapons export violate ethics but also its own guidelines for weapons export and international law. We as citizens and fellow human beings can not let companies and politicians contribute to an escalation of conflicts and an increasing militarization of the world. Weapons don't provide safety. They contribute to an increasing number of militarized conflicts in the world. According to a decision in the Swedish parliament 2003 (Policy for global development) all Swedish trade and foreign policies shall strengthen poverty reduction and human rights. Swedish weapons export is in direct collision with these goals. The Swedish guidelines for weapons export says that Sweden ought not sell weapons to countries who are or are presumed to soon be in war or to countries where severe and wide spread violations of human rights occur. These guidelines are ignored time and time again. We in the campaign Disarm believe in a world without weapons and militarism. A world where conflicts are handled constructively and without violence. If only a small part of the resources that today are used for weapons would be put into peaceful conflict transformation and a just distribution of the resources of the world, then many wars would not exist and no one would need to go hungry.

The 20th of March Iraq was invaded. The Swedish parliament declared the invasion to be in violation of international law. In spite of the Swedish guideline not to export weapons to countries in war the weapons export to the US continued and increased. Among the Swedish weapons used in Iraq are the Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle, the anti-tank weapon AT4, the flechette grenade ADM 401 and the Excalibur projectile. According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court it is criminal to assist someone in crimes of war, for example to provide weapons. Because the invasion and the occupation of Iraq can be classified as a crime of war according to the Rome Statute, Sweden can be held partly responsible for this crime. It is far from the first time that Swedish weapons have been used in war. One example is the use of the Carl Gustaf rifle by the military dictatorship of Burma. Sweden is responsible for the export of weapons to dictatorships and countries which severely violates human rights, like Bahrain, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico and Tunisia.

The campaign Disarm acts as a part of the long struggle of the Swedish peace movement to decrease Swedish weapons production and to stop Swedish weapons export. The Swedish weapons export has increased in spite of wide spread public resistance and large efforts from the peace movement. In this century the Swedish weapons export has tripled. It is now of grave importance that the citizens of Sweden shows, in a number of ways, that we no longer will tolerate this weapons export which so clearly takes life and violates human rights and international law.

We believe in a just world without weapons and violence. We believe that it is our right and our responsibility to act against the injustices we see. People in all of history and in different cultures have used nonviolence methods to struggle for peace and justice. Nonviolence means a powerful intervention against destructive acts with full respect for all involved and also to create the world we would wish to see. We in the campaign Disarm want to take our responsibility and to begin to disarm Swedish weapons ourselves through nonviolent direct action.