“Wars and military spending negatively impact on people’s economy by soaking up budgets that should go to education, health, culture and improved living conditions”, remarked Mr. Claudio Lotetti, coordinator of World Without War, an Italian-based humanity movement campaign for a world without war.

Mr. Lotitti, who is currently in the country, asserted that his organisation is embarking upon a sensitisation campaign on worldwide threats as tension comes about between countries.

“It has been more than demonstrated that hunger in the world could be resolved with 10 percent of what is spent on weapons. Can we imagine if 30 or 50 percent were destined to the improvement of people’s lives instead of applying to destruction”, he implored.

He maintained that the influence that the arms industry has over governments and society makes arms-producing countries put pressure to maintain conflicts and so consume, use and test weapons while disguising their lust with theories of inevitability, need or even the stability of their economies with armed conflicts.

“We take on this responsibility freely and we carry it out with all those who reject all forms of violence and bet on coexistence, shared development, real democracy, technology at the service of science at the service of the human beings and peace. It falls to us to denounce the violent minorities, to isolate them and pressurize them so that they redirect their bellicose policies towards human development”, he said.

“We therefore as individuals, as much as representatives and members of organizations collectives, groups political parties or businesses, who subscribe to this declaration and who work in their field must, at the same time, participate in platforms, fronts and forums with the aim of generating a great movement that puts an end to war and all forms of violence”, he concluded.