The campaigning charity has published new research that shows billions is being spent on illegitimate weapons deals by states under embargo...

According to new figures, more than $2.2 billion worth of arms and munitions has been imported since 2000 by countries operating under arms embargoes.

The figures, revealed in the charity's new arms trade report, show the extent to which states have been blatantly flouting 26 UN, regional and multilateral arms embargoes during the period.

The current arms sale situation is nothing new critics say, but a continuation of commercial and geo-politically driven objectives fuelled by the major powers, who are the main producers of weapons...

In the Bush Blair era, dominated by conflict and military intervention as it was, the UN estimated of the 500 million small arms globally - about half were illegal and the majority used in poor countries.

The top arms producing nations are the US, Russia, Germany, France, the UK and China...

Oxfam is calling for greater responsibility for what is a global problem, in terms of a prospective Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) including legally binding criteria that prevents arms transfers to abusers of human rights or for situations where there is a considerable risk they will hinder development or aggravate armed conflict.

In effect, the charity's campaign is calling for an end to decades of reckless arms deals which destroy lives and is calling for diplomats to implement tough action when they meet in July to draw up a fresh Arms Trade Treaty.

Oxfam wants to see the new treaty build on existing regional and sub-regional initiatives. As of 2012, 100 countries are party to regional arrangements that are meant to control the arms trade.

The move comes as the campaign group Campaign Against Arms Trade points out that the Arab Spring/repression/counter repression has led to the sound of cash registers ringing in the UK...

While the Arab Spring was being extolled by many observers, the group's study of export figures reveals the UK continued to licence arms for export to many Arab countries before, during and even after the Arab Spring.

These included over £1.7 billion worth of military exports to Saudi Arabia and smaller, but significant amounts to Bahrain and Egypt...

It's a picture of double standards that has been identified for years by peace campaigners, with the main arms nations sharing the fair share of the culpability.

Oxfam's Anna Macdonald says: "How can the sale of bananas be more tightly-controlled than the sale of machine guns?

"This situation is indefensible and it's long overdue for countries to hammer out a legally-binding agreement on weapons transfer."

Oxfam's findings are contained in the report, The Devil is in the Detail, which includes a case study on Syria. In 2010, for example, Syria imported $167 million worth of air defence systems and missiles as well as $1 million worth of small arms and light weapons and munitions.

Oxfam says some of these arms have played a central role in the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters in which the United Nations estimates 8,000 people died this year and last.

The Oxfam report relies on a variety of data including UN figures and COMTRADE data...

At a time of resurgent unrest in many parts of the world, Oxfam is appealing for strong actions and says a weak treaty would be worse than no treaty at all.

Stop wars and state-sanctioned oppression? Develop peaceful futures for ordinary people? Solutions are possible says Oxfam: implement tough regulations...