Oxford’s residents and students are being encouraged to “Tweet and Eat” as bananas are placed around Oxford’s landmarks as part of Oxfam’s new Control Arms Campaign.
The bananas, bearing the hashtag #armstreaty, are being distributed by the Oxford Students’ Oxfam Group (OSOG) in the hope that passers-by will tweet a picture of the fruit and sign an online petition. The project aims to highlight that the legislation regulating the trade of arms is currently less stringent than that of bananas. It hopes to put pressure on governments to ensure that the new Arms Trade Treaty, to be formed by the UN in July, is as stringent as possible. The banana saturation will also see bananas placed in finalists’ survival packs.
Phil Coales, President of Oxford Students Oxfam Group, explained, “The Arms Trade Treaty is the culmination of the seven year long Control Arms Campaign. Oxfam see that there is only one chance to get it right. OSOG are campaigning for a strong, bulletproof treaty, which binds all its signatories not to allow the transfer of arms, including ammunition, to areas in which they are likely to be used to violate human rights, to perpetrate war crimes, or to increase poverty.”
Chris Garrand, a member of OSOG involved in the campaign, said, “We want that treaty to be the toughest it can possibly be. Oxfam have taken the staggering fact that arms can currently be traded more easily than bananas and created a quirky, fun campaign to raise awareness and get people involved.”
