The Gothenburg Process

On 20-23 May 2004 the Christian Council of Sweden, the Swedish Mission Council and the Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation organised an ecumenical conference on the arms trade in Gothenburg, Sweden. This conference gathered a diverse range of people from different professional backgrounds to discuss how the religious community can respond to the growing global concern on worldwide trade and proliferation of military equipment. The conference was a successor to the first ecumenical conference on the arms trade held in Gothenburg in 2001.

Among the participants were church leaders, church related experts, policy-makers and NGO representatives.

The Conference noted that the defence industry has become more and more international and integrated with the effect that developing an ethically responsible export control policy has become more complicated. Churches need to respond to this new reality by bringing moral and ethical leadership to public policy debates.

The Gothenburg Process continues with regional meetings and seminars, with a view to developing an action plan on the arms trade. The 3rd ecumenical conference is planned for 2006.

Download the report from the 2nd Ecumenical Conference on Arms Trade.