Amid a deteriorating global security environment, world military expenditure reached US$2.7 trillion in 2024. This surge coincided with faltering progress on reaching the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. A state’s spending on the military can have substantial adverse impacts on its sustainable development—such as diverting resources from social expenditure, slowing economic growth, increasing inequality and contributing to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions.

To address these diverging trends and their consequences, the UN needs to revitalize its disarmament machinery to debate military spending’s impact on development. States should adopt a human-centred approach to security; that is, states must balance the security of the state with upholding their commitments to domestic and overseas development. In addition, civil society should mobilize public debate to advocate for a human-centred security that prioritizes sustainable development.