PHILADELPHIA (May 22, 2025) – Today the American Friends Service Committee joins the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and organizations from around the world to launch the “10% For All” campaign. The campaign calls for every nation to cut its military spending by at least 10% and to invest that money in human needs. Civil society and faith-based organizations from the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Senegal, South Africa, India, Pakistan, and many other countries have united in this effort.
According to the campaign, “We propose a simple yet transformative approach: a coordinated, global 10% reduction in military expenditures. This is about redefining national security, rather than weakening it. If every country reduces its military budget by 10%, no nation loses its relative defensive capabilities, but we collectively interrupt the endless and destructive arms race.”
In 2024, the world spent an unprecedented $2.7 trillion on military budgets—equivalent to the entire budgets of South Africa, Canada, Brazil, and India combined. Spending billions on bombs and tanks does nothing to address the biggest threats to human security. Hunger continues to claim millions of lives, the climate crisis intensifies, and people around the world lack access to drinkable water, healthcare, education, and livelihoods. Investment in militarism only deepen the rise of authoritarianism and global inequalities.
“As a Quaker organization that has been working to end wars and reduce military spending for over a century, we are proud to be part of the 10% For All campaign,” said Mike Merryman-Lotze, Just Peace Global Policy Director for AFSC. “Hunger, poverty, inequality, and a lack of rights are forms of insecurity that cannot be addressed through weapons and war. Investments in diplomacy, nonviolent conflict prevention, climate action, and human well-being are what can create a safe and thriving world for all.”
The 10% For All campaign will advocate for a strategic approach that pursues regional and multilateral treaties in order to forge a path for a global treaty. Drawing inspiration from successful models like the Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaties—which include agreements across Latin America, the Caribbean, Oceania, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Central Asia—the campaign calls for regional cooperative agreements, bilateral treaties between neighboring countries, and multilateral negotiations. These interim steps can create momentum, build trust, and demonstrate the feasibility of military spending reductions.
The campaign launch will feature a virtual event on May 23 at 10 a.m. EST. Registration for that event can be found here.
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine Light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.