The Atlas of Disarmament

Peacemaking victories were always hard-won. We were reminded of this by UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament in February 2024. The victories were not miracles either. Guterres went on to say they were achieved because the opposing states recognised that the key to disarmament lies in cooperation for mutual benefit – and not in competition for mutual destruction. Moreover, military spending ties up valuable financial resources that are no longer available for important social causes such as health, education and infrastructure or for solving global humanitarian challenges such as climate change and climate adaptation.

With the new Atlas of Disarmament, the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung aims to use country studies, thematic articles and graphic illustrations to show the opportunities and possibilities that lie in global disarmament.

Disarmament efforts aim to reduce military activities that cause considerable environmental and climate damage and to reallocate military resources to sustainable development initiatives. By channeling military resources into programmes to combat poverty, hunger and social inequality these resources would promote economic justice and equitable development and thus serve to prevent conflict.