Weapons being burnt during the official launch of the “Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration” process in Burundi.
PREFACE
had acquired them illegally, often from the excessively large Cold War stocks left around the world. All in all, nowadays the world’s governments are spending well over US$ 1.5 trillion a year on their militaries, a level of spending not seen since the end of World War II. This amounts to roughly $250 for each person in the world. Whereas 2.5% of the world’s gross domestic product goes to the military, only 0.3%—eight times less—is spent on development aid. People born after the Cold War have grown up without the persistent cloud of living under the threat of a global nuclear war. Instead of some 60,000 nuclear warheads that were around in 1991, there are now approximately 17,000 of them. The threat of two global powers entering a full-scale nuclear war has receded, but because of the ability of nuclear arms to obliterate whole societies—and the risk of misuse, loss, or unforeseen political developments—the problem is not in the numbers, but in the mere existence of these weapons. Disarmament education is needed more than ever to make us grasp the present-day reality of these threats. The goal of Action for Disarmament is to encourage dialogue among, and provide disarmament and non-proliferation resources to, all who care about the future. It also aims to spread the message that disarmament provides a foundation for promoting peace and development around the world. All people, especially youth, can play a valuable role by taking action to create a safer world—from nuclear weapons abolition to curbing gun violence. Before deciding which aspect of disarmament and non-proliferation you are most interested in, it is important to know the many types of weapons that exist in the world today—to understand how they have evolved and continue to proliferate.
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