"Humanitarian emergencies are directly correlated with declining incomes,.high income inequality, competition for extraction of mineral wealth,.military centrality as defined by military expenditure as a percentage
of GNP, and conflict tradition." ......................................... ................Human Security Report 2006 |
| Transparency in Armaments Fact Sheet |
UN member states have agreed that restraint should be exercised in defence spending. The original goal was to obtain actual reductions in military expenditure. As a first step to that end they decided to share information on their spending in this sector – voluntarily. This is what is called the UN Standardized Instrument for Reporting Military Expenditures (MilEx), which commenced in 1981. |
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Without agreement on comparability of the information provided and on verification, reduction faded away as an objective; also because many military budgets did shrink immediately following the Cold War. MilEx has since been purely a transparency tool, like the Register, helping to build confidence and promote restraint through greater openness. |
Under the MilEx instrument, governments are encouraged to yearly report to the United Nations what funds are allocated to military matters. A standardized reporting form invites the submission of data relating to expenditures on personnel, operations and maintenance, procurement and construction, and research and development. An alternative simplified reporting form only seeks aggregate data on personnel, operations and procurement. The UN collects this information and makes it public. In 2010-2011, the MilEx instrument will be reviewed by a UN Group of Governmental Experts for the first time since its inception. |
