In September 2024, we wrote to the Mayor of London calling a stop to the DSEI arms fair – one of the biggest – which is due to take place in at the ExCel centre in London this September 2025. You can read our letter here. At WILPF we seek to end and stop future wars by dismantling the root causes and know that more weapons only prolongs devastation, suffering and causes more armed conflict..
We received the following response from the Mayor of London’s office and have followed their suggestion to contact the Ministers responsible for this event.
“Thank you for your letter to the Mayor on behalf of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), who have expressed concerns that the DSEI 2025 Defence Exhibition and Trade Show is being held in London. I am replying on behalf of the Mayor, and apologise for the delayed response. We are grateful to WILPF for raising this matter with the Mayor and share their concern.
Please be assured that the DSEI arms fair is not an event that the Mayor supports, nor is the Mayor or his office involved in the arrangements for the arms fair. The Mayor opposes the use of London as a marketplace for the trade of weapons to countries that contribute to human rights abuses.
Unfortunately, neither the permission or its cancellation of this event is within the Mayor or his office’s remit. The event is supported by the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Business and Trade, and we would recommend that you contact them directly to raise your concern.
Thank you again for writing.”
We followed the suggestion to contact the Minsters responsible for this event – The Rt Hon John Healey MP Secretary of State for Defence and The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP Secretary of State for Business and Trade – and have sent them the following letter.
Dear Secretary of State,
NO to the ExCeL Centre arms fair, now and in the future
WILPF – the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – was founded to stop wars
and prevent future wars by dismantling the causes of war and armed conflict. As a women’s international peace organisation with over 100 years of experience, WILPF seeks to shift our UK government’s local, regional, national and international policy away from aiding and abetting military confrontation and, instead, move towards negotiation and peace.
We are writing to you about the arms fair held every two years at the ExCeL Centre. We are appalled at – and mourn – the suffering, devastation and lives lost in wars and armed conflicts. More weapons will not end wars. Wars cause human misery and climate destruction… and more wars.
WILPF UK has been in touch with the Mayor of London’s office, who assure us that the arms fair is not regulated by them, but is supported by the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Business and Trade. That is why we are writing to you.
Here are 10 reasons why WILPF says NO to the arms fair:
NO to London showcasing weapons and tools for wars and armed violence
NO to the death, destruction, displacement, and violent oppression and repression that these weapons cause
NO to those who profit from war, killing, injustice, corruption and abusing human rights
NO to the UK government actively supporting arms dealers and military personnel from the world’s most violent, authoritarian and undemocratic regimes
NO to the ways in which the military and war contribute to the climate crisis, destroying the environment, and forcing people to flee their homes
NO to the disproportionate impact of war and weapons on the world’s poorest, particularly women, girls and minority groups
NO to militarism and violent masculinities, and to the consequences of the arms trade that lead directly to increased sexual and gender-based violence and abuse against women in their homes and communities
NO to the social and political inequalities and pressures from the increase in female-headed households when men are killed in armed conflicts
NO to arming and driving wars for territory and to exploit scarce resources NO to the ExCeL Centre arms fair, now and in the future
We are interested to know which countries you have accepted to send delegations to the ExCeL arms fair, so that we may research their human rights records.
We look forward to hearing from you, with news of your plans to cancel and prohibit future arms fairs.
Yours in peace
