US: Survivors and families work to keep guns off of schools
South Africa captain supports Gun-Free World Cup campaign
Oslo conference on armed violence & development
Mexico: IANSA women at the second women-only training on small arms control

Kenya: Pastoralist women’s campaign
Paraguay: Safe Community project
Other news: Only 3 week to the Week of Action; 25% of Peruvian women killed in 2009 were shot; Colombia’s national gun laws; Arms trafficking & humanitarian aid; DAKS newsletter.

As people in the United States commemorated the anniversaries of the Virginia Tech shooting (16 April) and Columbine (20 April) mass shootings, survivors and gun control advocates continue to work to make American gun laws stronger and keep weapons out of schools, homes and communities. They sent open letters to senators urging them to support ending the policy that allows firearms to be purchased at gun shows without the background checks needed at federally licenced gun shops. A report published this week by the US government finds that firearms were used in 54% of the attacks on university campuses. It also shows that attacks usually involve one perpetrator, the majority of whom are male. More

Football star Aaron Mokoena, captain of South Africa’s national team and midfielder for Portsmouth FC has announced his support for the Gun-Free World campaign. Wearing the IANSA t-shirt with the slogan ‘Don’t Shoot: Gun-Free World Cup’, Aaron Mokoena said: “When I was growing up playing football, I always dreamed about playing for Bafana Bafana. To play for my country and be captain, particularly when the World Cup is being hosted on African soil, is a real honour. This is an opportunity to demonstrate to the world the beauty and diversity of our country. So let's be a united Africa and ensure that our country is safe. Let's support a gun-free World Cup.” More.

Due to the air traffic problems in Europe last week, the major Oslo conference on Armed Violence & Development was cancelled. The Oslo Commitments will instead be endorsed at a meeting in Geneva on 12 May. As IANSA prepares for the UN Biennial Meeting of States (BMS) in June, we will prioritise civil society support for these Commitments, which aim to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). More.

20 women from Central America and the Caribbean participated in the women-only training institute on 'Women and small arms control' held in Mexico City, 20-23 April. This was organised following last year's successful pilot training in Ethiopia. The Central American training provided guidance to IANSA Women’s Network members, female police officers and government officials from Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Puerto Rico. The Central American training was organised by IANSA Women’s Network and SweFOR in collaboration with CASAC, Redcepaz and the Folke Bernadotte Academy.

IANSA women in Wajir (Kenya) are celebrating a major victory as the local government has agreed to share information about their small arms inventory and mark over 9,000 weapons. Women have also been invited to join a committee that will lead programmes raising awareness on small arms control. The decision came after 100 pastoralist women submitted a petition and a regional plan on firearms control to the government on 8 April. The plan also lists local arms markets, smuggling routes and arms traffickers. This initiative is being coordinated by Frontier Indigenous Network.

IANSA member CEJ (Centre for Judicial Studies) held a workshop on the “Safe Schools - Safe Community” project in Asuncion (Paraguay), 12-13 April. Yancy Espinoza and Felicia Rodriguez from the Arias Foundation (Costa Rica) spoke about the achievements of the “Safe Schools - Safe Community” project in 10 Latin American countries. In Paraguay, the project is being implemented in the city of Limpio by CEJ in coordination with the Mayor's Office. More.

Other news:

In 3 weeks we will celebrate the Global Week of Action against Gun Violence! This year you will be able to follow the Week of Action on Twitter by following the link on the IANSA site. Please remember to send us details the events that you will organise in your countries.

A quarter of Peruvian women that were killed in 2009 were shot, according to a report by the Observatory on Criminality, part of the National Attorney’s Office. That year, there were 276 reported murders of women. 70% of these deaths were perpetrated by the current or former intimate partner of the victim. More.

Few survivors of Sierra Leone's armed conflict have yet received reparation or compensation, according to a report by UK-based Leonard Cheshire Disability. The report examines the situation of people with disabilities in the post-conflict country. More

A new report analyses Colombia's national laws in the light of international instruments on small arms control. It identifies areas where harmonisation with international guidelines has been more successful and those where efforts must be intensified. The report was published UN-LiREC and UNODC. More.

EthicalCargo.org is a new web-based information clearinghouse which aims to reduce the involvement of arms traffickers in humanitarian aid and peace-keeping operations. It contains information on conflict-sensitive logistics programmes, ethical transportation policies, contract negotiation techniques. It also provides an emergency 24 hour hotline. EthicalCargo.org is administered by SIPRI. More

The latest DAKS newsletter is now available. It presents a new campaign against arms exports called: Action outcry! This is organised by German peace activists. In another article, Robert Lindner from Oxfam Germany explains the dangers of the excluding NGOs from the Arms Trade Treaty negotiations. More

Please send your news and stories for the Update to adriana.medina@iansa.org