Campaign Against Arms Trade
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| Founded | 1974 |
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| Focus | Opposition to arms trading |
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| Website | www |
Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is a UK-based NGO and campaigning organisation working towards the abolition of the international arms trade. It was founded in 1974 by a coalition of peace groups.
CAAT has been involved in several campaigns, particularly its legal challenge against the Serious Fraud Office's decision to suspend a corruption investigation into BAE Systems in 2007. On 27 September 2012, it was honoured with a Right Livelihood Award for its "innovative and effective campaigning".
CAAT's campaigns are founded on a programme of detailed research into the arms trade and arms companies, and their relationship with the UK government and military, through political, financial and military support. The focus is on arms exports, although CAAT recognises that there is a close relationship with military procurement.
CAAT research places particular emphasis on debunking myths and exposing hidden features of the arms trade, and research into large government subsidies given to the arms industry, largely through government research and development (R&D) but also through export credits, government promotion and military attaches. In 2011, it commissioned the (SIPRI) to calculate the costs of these subsidies - the figure it arrived at was £698 million annually.
Over the years, CAAT has published a number of briefings on the arms trade, including An introduction to the Arms Trade - An introduction to the impact of the arms trade, how it works, and the main justifications for the arms trade (latest edition April 2011) and Private gain, public pain - The case for ending the Government's arms selling and shutting the UKTI's Defence & Security Organisation (May 2010), both of which are accessible via CAAT website. CAAT also publishes a quarterly magazine, CAATnews, which is sent to supporters.
CAAT website contains information about the arms trade, arms companies and campaigning material. A relatively recent addition is an Arms Trade App, a web app which reveals in an accessible format the details of UK "strategic export" licences, including military equipment, issued by the Export Control Organisation of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The app makes previously difficult or inaccessible information available to public view and CAAT sees it as a valuable campaigning tool in helping to hold the government to account. In 2013, in collaboration with the European Network Against Arms Trade (ENAAT), CAAT launched a European Union (EU) Arms Export Browser which breaks down the complex data in the EU annual reports on arms exports in an accessible manner, by year, supplier country, destination country and types of military hardware.
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