War on Want is an anti-poverty charity based in London. War on Want works to challenge the root causes of poverty, inequality and injustice through partnership with social movements in the global South and campaigns in the UK. War on Want's slogan is "poverty is political" and its stated focus is on the root causes of poverty rather than its effects.
The organisation was formed in 1951 after a letter in The Manchester Guardian from Victor Gollancz was read by Harold Wilson, later British Prime Minister, who coined the name.[2][3] Since then, the organisation has taken part in many campaigns and investigations, including in the 1970s helping to expose baby food companies marketing powdered milkinfant formula as a healthier option than breast milk to mothers in the developing world – a dangerous and expensive option for these mothers who had no access to safe drinking water and sterilisation facilities.
In the 1980s, War on Want campaigned on the role of women in the developing world, and supported liberation movements in Eritrea, South Africa and Western Sahara.
From 1983 to 1987, George Galloway was General Secretary of War on Want. The Daily Mirror accused Galloway of living luxuriously at the charity's expense. An independent auditor cleared him of misuse of funds, though he did repay £1,720 in contested expenses. The official history of the charity says that Galloway's methods of management created interpersonal problems among the staff, and although the charity grew under Galloway, his period in charge was followed by a serious internal crisis.[4]
More than two years after Galloway stepped down as general secretary after being elected as a Labour MP, the British Government's Charity Commission investigated War on Want, finding accounting irregularities including that the financial reports were "materially mis-stated"[4] from 1985 to 1989, but little evidence that money was used for non-charitable purposes. Galloway had been general secretary for the first three of those years. The commission said responsibility lay largely with auditors and did not single out individuals for blame. War on Want was found to have been insolvent, and subsequently dismissed most of its staff and narrowly avoided administration.[5] It was relaunched in 1991.
In the 1990s, it focused on issues that resulted from globalisation, including workers' rights and a call to set up a Tobin tax on currency speculation. The charity set up the Tobin tax Network (now a separate charity called Stamp Out Poverty) to develop the proposal and press for its introduction.
In 2006 War on Want launched a campaign for Palestinian human rights, including a report titled Profiting from the Occupation, which looked at European corporations who the charity claimed were profiting from Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.[6] The campaign was praised by The Guardian at the time, which named the charity "Campaign of the Week".[7] In 2007 MP Lee Scott complained to the Charity Commission about an online "guide for boycott, divestment and sanctions" against Israel. War on Want said it already had permission from the Commission to advocate boycotts and sanctions to address "the root causes of poverty and human rights abuses".[8] In July 2009 the Commission concluded that no regulatory action was required, declaring itself satisfied that the charity's trustees understood the official guidance on campaigning by charities and that War on Want's campaigns on Palestine were linked to its charitable objects, making them legitimate under charity law.[9] War on Want has continued its support of the BDS movement.
In 2011, War on Want marked its 60th anniversary[10] with a repeat of the Yes campaign that first formed the charity, asking people to email the word Yes to show their support for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. They delivered the petition to Foreign Secretary William Hague.[11]
War on Want is campaigning against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). TTIP is a proposed free trade agreement being secretly negotiated between the European Union and the United States. It argues that TTIP will cost more than one million jobs, lead to the irreversible privatisation of public services, a "race to the bottom" in food, environmental and labour standards and allow US companies to sue the UK government in private courts.[12]
Israel
War on Want is calling for a two-way arms embargo between the UK and Israel. War on Want believes that by selling arms to Israel, the UK government is complicit in Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people. War on Want advocates for a boycott of Israel until it complies with international law. It also campaigns to expose companies which sustain and profit from the Israeli-occupied territories.[citation needed]
Food sovereignty
War on Want's The Hunger Games report[when?] revealed how the Department for International Development (DFID) used hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money with the express purpose of extending the power of agribusiness over the production of food in Africa. War on Want believes the root cause of the global food crisis is that food is treated like a financial commodity to be traded, and not a right for communities. It believes food production should be in the hands of small-scale producers.[citation needed]
Other campaigns
In its campaigning and programmes strands of work, War on Want focuses on
War on Want has released a series of "alternative reports" highlighting issues such as Coca-Cola's overseas activities allegedly causing poverty and environmental damage.[13] It has also released research on alleged human rights abuses by private military and security companies in Iraq and elsewhere, and a report highlighting how companies such as Tesco, Primark and Asda sell goods made by sweatshop labour in Bangladesh.[citation needed] War on Want campaigns against these corporations, and calls for the British government to regulate these industries as well for as the businesses themselves to take responsibility for their actions. In 2010, War on Want released a report exposing the companies that it describes as "profiting" from Israel's occupation of the West Bank, and calling on ordinary people around the world to take action.[citation needed]
Praise and criticism
Solidarity
War on Want has issued numerous statements of solidarity with organisations and movements all over the world. In October 2009, War on Want issued a statement of solidarity with Abahlali baseMjondolo in response to attacks on the Kennedy Road informal settlement and wrote a letter to the South African High Commissioner in London.[14][15] The charity also spearheaded a campaign highlighting the forced displacement of poor South Africans in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup.[16]
Israel boycott
In 2010, War on Want's[17] campaign "Help win justice for the Palestinian people this Christmas"[18] accused Israel of "illegal Occupation," "daily human rights abuses," and "the siege on Gaza and the Apartheid Wall." As in previous years, War on Want called for holiday donations in the form of "alternative gifts," to "launch a sustained campaign against UK companies that are profiting from the Occupation" and to "secure compensation for those who have lost land due to construction of the Apartheid Wall."[18]
NGO Monitor's Dan Kosky wrote that due to War on Want's support of an Israel boycott and its stand against the British presence in Iraq, a thorough review of the organization should be conducted by the UK regarding funding, for "if not, the United Kingdom could find itself aiding an Israel boycott campaign."[19] In January 2018, War on Want was listed as one of 20 anti-Israel BDS organizations banned from entering Israel and Israeli-occupied territory. Israeli Strategic Affairs MinisterGilad Erdan who formulated the list stated, "Boycott organisations need to know that Israel will act against them and will not allow [them] to enter its territory in order to harm its citizens."[20] In response, War on Want stated "For 70 years, Israel has subjected Palestinians to a range of human rights abuses including travel bans... this blacklist is a repressive tactic borrowed from the same playbook used by the apartheid regime in South Africa."[21]
In October 2018, War on Want's PayPal account was terminated after receiving a complaint from two pro-Israeli legal groups; the Lawfare Project and UK Lawyers for Israel. The groups alleged that War on Want had links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[22] The groups also lodged a complaint with the Charity Commission which, however, in July 2019 cleared the charity of any wrongdoing.[23][24]
In April 2020, "Oliver Taylor" got articles published in Arutz Sheva, The Algemeiner, The Times of Israel, and The Jerusalem Post.[25] In these, he repeated the allegations made by the pro-Israeli groups that War on Want had "ties to terrorist entities". Taylor described himself as a "24-year-old student, barista, and political activist. During the week I work on completing my masters in political science, and come the weekend you will find me engrossed in all things coffee. Whether I am brewing it or sipping it." His profile photo was that of a young brown-eyed man smiling with a light stubble. But a report by Reuters concluded that Taylor most likely did not exist. There was no record of Oliver Taylor on the University of Birmingham where he supposedly studied and the six experts interviewed by Reuters agreed that the profile photo was a deepfake. The websites were forced to take down the articles when contacted by lawyers. Who actually penned those articles remained a mystery.[26][25]
Finances
Income in the years from 2011/12 to 2015/16 ranged from £1.6m (2011/12) to a high point of £2.1m (2014/15), with public donations and legacies the main source.[1]
In FY19/20, War on Want received funding from the following prominent organisations:[27]
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a British charity that offers medical services in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, and advocates for Palestinians' rights to health and dignity. It is in special consultative status with ECOSOC since 2002.
Global Justice Now, formerly known as the World Development Movement (WDM), is a membership organisation based in the United Kingdom which campaigns on issues of global justice and development in the Global South.
Oxfam Australia is an Australian, independent, charity, not-for-profit, secular, community-based aid and development organization, and is an affiliate of the Oxfam International Confederation. Oxfam Australia's work is divided into four broad categories covering climate justice, Economic Justice, Gender Justice and First Peoples Justice as well as Humanitarian response. They believe that poverty in the 21st century is less a problem of scarcity but the result of how resources, opportunities, and protections are distributed and wielded.
Labour Behind the Label (LBL) is a UK-based non-profit co-operative organisation with an office in Easton, Bristol, which campaigns for workers' rights in the clothing industry. It is the platform of the international Clean Clothes Campaign in the United Kingdom. LBL's members include trade unions and their local branches, consumer organisations, campaign groups, and charities.
Agrexco Agricultural Export Company Ltd. was Israel’s largest exporter of agricultural produce, with the European Union one of its major markets. Agrexco went into liquidation on August 2011, with debts of €175 million, mainly owed to its bondholders that were mostly Israeli Institutional investors. In 2011, the Israeli court approved the offer of Gideon Bickel and Chen Lamdan to purchase the Company for 17.6 million ILS in cash and 24.4 million ILS contingent on future performance of the Company.
George Galloway is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale since the 2024 by-election. He has been the leader of the Workers Party of Britain since he founded it in 2019. From 1987 to 2010, and from 2012 to 2015, Galloway served as MP for four constituencies, first for the Labour Party and then from 2005 for the Respect Party, which he led from 2013 until its dissolution in 2016.
Disinvestment from Israel is a campaign that aims to use disinvestment to pressure the government of Israel to put "an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories captured during the 1967 military campaign." The disinvestment campaign is related to other economic and political boycotts of Israel.
Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief in Oxford, UK, in 1942, to alleviate World War Two related hunger and continued in the aftermath of the war. By 1970, Oxfam had established an international presence, in India, Australia, Denmark, and North America.
Viva Palestina is a British-based organisation formerly registered as a charity. The body came into being in January 2009 with the initial intention of running a convoy of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Its aims are the "provision from the UK of food, medicine and essential goods and services needed by the civilian population" [of the occupied Palestinian Territories] and "highlighting the causes and results of wars with a view to achieving peace."
The Palestine lobby in the United States is organized by a number of pro-Palestinian advocacy groups seeking to influence the United States government, institutions, and citizens to actively oppose Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, many of them members or cooperating with the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. These organizations include peace and anti-war, human rights, anti-Zionist, and Arab- and Muslim-American groups. Groups against occupation also include Jewish Voices for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine, among others. Their tactics include education, protest, civil disobedience and lobbying.
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS), a secular organisation, was formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1984 to promote free discussion and action on Jewish and general social and political issues. It grew out of a profound concern at the continuing Arab–Israeli conflict, though some of its members had been active on the left since at least the 1930s in Europe. Others had been born in Israel or Australia, or spent considerable time in Israel. Others came out of the anti-Vietnam war and peace movements. Some key members had strong links to the Israeli peace movement, the Jewish left, Labor Zionism, or other Jewish religious and cultural traditions. More recently, members with strong environmental concerns have become active.
"Freedom for Palestine" is a song by OneWorld, a collective of musicians, artists, campaign groups and charities working together to "raise awareness of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the resulting poverty and other human rights abuses." The song, released on 3 July 2011, is a compilation number, similar to "Free Nelson Mandela" or "Feed the World". Its lyrics mention "catastrophes, refugees, crimes against humanity, prison camps, occupation, human rights and justice."
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties". The movement is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.
Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel is a New York-based organization that campaigns for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. “Adalah” is the Arabic word for “justice.”
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is an activist organisation in England and Wales. It was founded in the UK in 2004 and incorporated that year as Palestine Solidarity Campaign Ltd. In 2023, The Guardian described it as "Europe’s largest Palestinian rights organisation".
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) is a Scottish political organisation which campaigns in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Students for Justice in Palestine is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. In 2011, The New York Times reported that "S.J.P., founded in 2001 at the University of California, Berkeley, has become the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus."
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) is a British non-governmental organisation established in August 2014 by members of the Anglo-Jewish community. It publishes research, organises rallies and petitions, and conducts litigation.
Reactions to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) refer to the views of international actors on the BDS movement.
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