Sign Petition: Demilitarize UK Universities
For a world where universities end their partnerships with the global arms trade and invest in peaceful innovation instead, add your voice by endorsing this petition.
Demilitarise Education (dED) is calling for UK Universities to publicly commit to demilitarisation by adopting The dED Treaty, stating that they will change policy to exclude arms companies, ending their financial, academic and research partnerships with the arms industry, and reinvest in peaceful and renewable sectors. This campaign is being run in partnership with World BEYOND War, a global nonviolent movement to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace.
For everyone interested in seeing UK university demilitarization, sign here.
If you are affiliated with a UK university, please also sign here: https://ded1.co/how-we-do-it/open-letter-2025
Be regularly updated about DeD and/or World Beyond War's work:
Why is this important?
The military industrial complex – the relationship between a country’s military and the defence industry – is not often the first thing that comes to mind when we think about UK universities. But as climate change and global conflict escalate, it has never been more important that our education systems are used to advance peace.
But UK universities continue to invest in and partner with the companies who profit from and contribute to this instability. The dED database has uncovered £2BN+ in these links - and we’ve barely scratched the surface yet!
This demonstrates the massive scope of university relationships with arms entities, rooted in an industry which will not help us tackle modern-day security threats. The arms industry cannot help to resolve the security threats arising from climate change, poverty, and global instability. Veterans for Peace have said this plainly: “War cannot solve the problems we face in the 21st century”. We cannot fight climate change with fighter jets, and cannot solve health crises with combat drones.
As Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. The military sector and arms industry make their profits from resource exploitation, conflict and the building-up of weapons reserves: the exact things generating instability.
To create a more peaceful world, our universities should support and develop security innovations to help us face modern-day security challenges – rather than investing in ones that negatively contribute to the threats we face.
Universities hold undeniable power to shape society. By signing this petition you will help to make sure that this power is used in favour of peace and not war.
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