This week, right after the UN voted to adopt the first ever International Arms Trade Treaty, Oxfam America president Ray Offenheiser did an interview for Public Radio International’s The World about the meaning and impact of the treaty. He addresses questions like: How big of a deal is this? Does this have any impact on current armed conflicts, like the one in Syria? Will this have an impact on US gun control? You can listen to the interview below:

The US, along with 153 other countries, voted YES to make sure the world will be a safer place, while facing tough opposition from powerful lobbies like the NRA, which spread misinformation and lies about the treaty.

Take a moment to thank President Obama’s administration for their work on making the Arms Trade Treaty strong and effective, and urge him to sign onto it as soon as possible.

Photo: Rankin

Huge news coming out of the UN today: this morning, delegates from 154 nations voted to adopt the first-ever international Arms Trade Treaty.

This is a historic moment. For the first time, the world has a treaty to help monitor and control the flow of arms and ammunition across borders. It’s a strong, effective treaty that will save lives and protect human rights around the world.

This momentous victory is the culmination of more than 10 years of campaigning by Oxfam and many other like-minded organizations and allies. And it’s the result of the actions of tens of thousands of Oxfam supporters like you – people who raised their voices in support of an Arms Trade Treaty, donated to fuel this work, and spread the word about this crucial issue.

For families in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Mali, and other countries wracked with armed conflict, the Arms Trade Treaty means a safer, brighter future. Ending armed conflict in poor communities is vital to righting the wrong of poverty, which is why Oxfam has been working to pass this treaty for more than a decade.

President Obama and his administration played an important leadership role to ensure the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty. Join us and send a message thanking them now.

In early March, Oxfam ambassador Djimon Hounsou visited a cattle camp in South Sudan, where many communities are suffering from the consequences of the unregulated flow of arms and ammunition. Photo by Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin

Earlier this month, actor Djimon Hounsou traveled with Oxfam America to South Sudan to bring attention to the need our world has for an international Arms Trade Treaty. This is his blog.

I just came back from an emotional trip through South Sudan, a country that’s still struggling to find peace after more than 50 years of war. I visited herding communities, like the one above, where the number of cattle owned by a family defines its social status and wealth. While cattle-raiding has been going on for generations, spears have been replaced with guns, and the violence increases season after season. I was shocked to see young boys carrying AK-47s.

Today, in New York, the UN starts to discuss the international Arms Trade Treaty. I’ve seen firsthand the horrifying results of unregulated weapons. It’s time for us to take a firm stance against this, to begin to put an end to the violence. A strong treaty is the foundation we need to make sure weapons and ammunition are not transferred to places where the weapons will be used to stall development or violate human rights.

Victoria Marzilli is Oxfam America’s social media specialist.

An Oxfam advocate poses for a picture in front of Oxfam's #WorldIWant posters at the Stand Up Against Poverty event at Lincoln Center in New York, New York, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010, just prior to the UN MDG Summit. Photo: Jacob Silberberg / Oxfam America

Yesterday, President Obama announced a global development policy at the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit—a big step towards fulfilling US development promises and helping people lift themselves out of poverty. In addition to organizing events outside the UN summit and working to influence US officials, Oxfam America used social media to raise awareness and spur a conversation about how the MDGs can help us achieve the world we want.

Earlier this month, I posed that same question to Oxfam America’s Twitter followers: What does the world you want look like? Not just out of curiosity, but in order to raise awareness about the MDGs and how they help us achieve a better world—one without poverty, hunger, and social injustice.

Using the hashtag #worldiwant, we captured thousands of tweets from all over the world and brought a select few to this week’s UN MDGs summit in New York City, in the form of posters displayed during the event at Lincoln Center (see more photos on Flickr).  Here are a few of your creative responses that were among my favorites:

 @ClaudiaCostin: I want a world where kids go to school every day, knowing that this will make the difference in their lives. #worldIwant
*Claudia Costin is Rio de Janeiro’s Secretary of Education.

@voiceteam: #worldiwant – people can hold leaders to account and decisions that affect the poorest people are made openly and transparently
*Voice connects bloggers with important political events.

@SocialCauseGuru: #WorldIwant A world where violence against women is NEVER tolerated

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not a big fan of “days.” Flag Day. National Boss Day. Grandparents Day. After a while, they are so many days, the individual sentiments behind them start to lose meaning. And, maybe it’s just me, but I’d rather we remembered our country, valued our administrative staff, and told our grandparents we loved them all year long.

So, when a co-worker mentioned that today was World Humanitarian Day, my first thought was, “Oh, God, not another one.” But then I watched this video from the UN. It explains what it means to be a humanitarian aid worker, from the points of view of the people who do the work as well as the communities they help.

I was struck by the simplicity of it. And the warmth. These are people, like those I know and like at Oxfam, who go to dangerous places to confront terrible conflicts, disasters, and diseases. And they carry out their work with energy, mercy, empathy, and incredible smarts.

Take a minute (or four) to watch the video. Be sure to hang on ’til 4:19 when a ridiculously cute Rwandan baby nearly steals the show.

If you’re moved by what you see, learn more about the humanitarian work Oxfam does. Right now, we’re ramping up our efforts in Pakistan, where we aim to reach 1 million flood survivors with clean water, sanitation facilities, and other essential aid.

Help provide our humanitarian workers with the support they need to help poor communities around the world. Donate now.

Photo: Atul Loke / Panos for Oxfam America

Things have been a bit hectic here over the last week or so as Oxfam responds to the massive floods in Pakistan. But even when disasters are happening, we also have to think about the bigger issues–and seize our opportunities to take action.

President Obama recently released a US plan to address the Millennium Development Goals, a set of global targets for reducing world hunger, improving health, and tackling poverty by 2015. But this plan is only a stepping stone. What we really need at the UN MDG Summit in September is for Obama to present America’s first-ever Global Development Strategy, which will be a crucial tool to for the US to lead the fight against global poverty.

What can you do to help? Check out our new photo gallery on Facebook, where we’ve posted eight photos from Oxfam’s work around the world–one for each of the Millenium Development Goals, like Global Partnerships (above).  Make sure to hit the trusty “like” button and share the photos, then take action to tell President Obama that we are waiting for a Global Development Strategy. Oxfam will then present the pictures and names at the UN Summit in September.

Andy Charles Etienne and his daughter Christina at a camp for displaced people in Haiti. Photo by Liz Lucas/Oxfam America

This post is by Porter McConnell, an Oxfam policy advisor who focuses on aid effectiveness. Haiti has been on her mind a lot recently as attention has keyed in on how the US and other donors can help or hinder the Caribbean nation as it rebuilds itself after the January 12 earthquake.

 Confronted with massive reconstruction following the January 12 earthquake, what do people in Haiti need most?

 Jobs.

That’s the answer revealed in a new Oxfam-funded survey of more than 1,700 Haitians.

I’ve been thinking about that answer, and how it relates to all the ideas I heard at a panel discussion sponsored by Oxfam’s aid effectiveness team in Washington last week that focused on ways aid can help or hurt Haitians rebuild their country. Many of those ideas will get aired again at the UN today when international donors and government officials from Haiti meet to hash out next steps for the country.

But one idea stands above all the others: the need for Haitians to be in charge of rebuilding their country.  Every one of the experts on the panel—including Haitian Ambassador Raymond Joseph, prominent Haitian Americans Paul Auxila and Joel Dreyfuss, and professor Robert Maguire–made that same point.

And they went further. They cautioned us not to think of Haiti as a blank slate. Read the rest of this entry »

As I write this from a borrowed office near Manhattan’s UN plaza, a police officer leans against the window a few feet away. I can hear the crackle of her radio and the tap of her nightstick against the glass; I can see her stance, weary yet alert. For the last hour, she’s been carefully eyeing each pedestrian who wanders past.

Because of this week’s UN General Assembly, including a high-level climate summit that begins tomorrow, the neighborhood is full of police officers guarding newly erected metal barriers. With more than 100 world leaders in town—including President Obama—security is understandably tight.

I also noticed this extra security at today’s Climate Week NYC opening ceremony, where celebrities and world leaders (including Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, Hugh Jackman, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon) kicked off a week of climate change events. In just one day, I’d gone from a grassroots stunt led by Oxfam campaigners and featuring thousands of volunteer activists—the Human Countdown in Central Park—to an invite-only panel that showcased the voices of power.

Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend in New York City, I’m going to be part of something truly unusual. I’ll be one of more than 2,000 people who will form a moving human sculpture of our world in a race against time: a massive, living planet earth and hourglass. Called the Human Countdown, this event will be broadcast by media outlets around the world, and will send an urgent message to leaders that time is running out to take action on climate change.

Why is now such a crucial time? Because, two days after this event, world leaders are gathering in New York for the UN Climate Summit—the first in a series of key moments when presidents and prime ministers will make major decisions about the future of our planet. Leaders, including President Obama, are meeting in New York and Pittsburgh in September and in Copenhagen in December, where they will decide whether or not to stop the clock on climate change.  

I’ll be there, blogging about the event for Oxfam. And if you’re concerned about climate change—especially the way it’s already affecting poor people here and abroad—I hope you’ll be there too. Having just come back from Ethiopia, where I saw communities facing increasingly severe drought, I feel a new sense of urgency to get away from my desk and actually do something about it.

The Human Countdown will be held at the Wollman Rink in Central Park on Sunday, September 20, and will feature national and international speakers, celebrities, and great music. Sign up to be part of it on our website—hope to see you there.

Beds crowd a bare room at a clinic in Congo where rape survivors receive medical and psychological care. Photo by Liz Lucas/Oxfam America

I’ve been thinking about a string of words that appeared in the headline of an Oxfam press release on the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this week: “Rape, forced labor, reprisal attacks, and torture.” They describe the surge in brutality civilians have endured from all sides since the start of the year when the Congolese government began a UN-backed military offensive against a rebel group in the conflict-torn eastern provinces of the country.

I’ve been to Congo. I’ve seen the conditions in those eastern provinces. I’ve heard many painful stories about the hardships and trauma people there live with daily. So why has that headline rattled me? Read the rest of this entry »