This paper is part of the Control Arms campaign of Amnesty International, Oxfam and IANSA. To protect the social and economic rights of people in developing countries, it is imperative that exporting governments apply an effective and systematic methodology to assess whether proposed arms transfers will affect sustainable development. The misuse of arms can further impede development. Contents: 1) Weighing the costs; 2) Causes for concern: the impact of arms transfers on sustainable development; 3) Promises in pieces: sustainable development and arms exports; 4) Context is critical: investigating the relationship between security, governance, arms imports, and sustainable development; 5) Towards the development of an assessment methodology.
