Work areas

The problem of small arms proliferation is multidimensional– that is why such a broad array of organisations around the world are so concerned about it. On this page you will find the latest news and resources on some of the hot topics for groups working against small arms and light weapons.

Latest news

Colombia: Civil society report on UN Security Council Resolution 1325
Women, gender and guns

In Colombia, the Red Nacional de Mujeres, a member of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders has launched ‘Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report (2011)’.

Small Arms Survey report on Cote d’Ivoire
Regional Cooperation, UN Small Arms Process

The Small Arms Survey has published “A National Survey of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Côte d’Ivoire: Arms Control and Armed Violence Prevention before the Post-electoral Crisis” in cooperation with the National Commission on Small Arms in Cote d’Ivoire, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Small Arms Control Programme (ECOSAP), and UNDP.

New report from Oxfam highlights irresponsible arms transfers
International trade controls

More than $2.2bn worth of arms and ammunition have been imported since 2000 to countries operating under arms embargoes, according to the new report “The Devil is in the Detail”  by Oxfam International.

India: IANSA member launches new website
Survivors, Women, gender and guns

The Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network has launched a new website to highlight its work in the northeast region of India ‘lifting women above the trauma and agony faced in armed conflict by helping them to find ways to heal the scars that decades of violence have caused to the community’. Visit the website at: http://www.womensurvivorsnetwork.org/

IANSA members interview female combatants in Burundi
Survivors, Women, gender and guns

The Group for Research and Information on Peace (GRIP) and RAPACODIBU, IANSA members in Belgium and Burundi have published interviews they held with former female combatants in Burundi. They highlight issues around the reintegration of these women, and discuss women’s motivation for joining armed rebel groups and the potential risk that they will return. Read them here

Latest resources

Gender, Peace and Security Update from PRIO
Women, gender and guns
The first ‘Gender, Peace and Security Update (GPS)’ for 2012 from the Peace Research Institute Oslo, features PRIO researcher and Deputy Director Inger Skjelsbæk’s new book ‘The Psychology of War Rape: Studies from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the launch of the US Peace Research Endowment'.
NGO Presentations at the PoA PrepCom, 21 March 2012
UN Small Arms Process

Representatives of civil society spoke in the afternoon plenary session of the preparatory committee (PrepCom) for the 2012 Review Conference (RevCon) on 21 March 2012.

The importance of international cooperation and assistance to improve stockpile management in Africa
Stockpile management and security, UN Small Arms Process

This article was written by Félix Kokou Aklavon, member of the International Advisory Council (IAC) and the Togolese Action Network on Small Arms (RASALT) for the Small Arms Monitor during the preparatory committee for the 2012 Review Conference on the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA).

The Arms Flyers: Commercial Aviation, Human Rights, and the Business of War and Arms
International trade controls

The report presents (Part I and Part II) a series of cases - from the 1980s to present - that illustrate and document the continuous involvement of aviation companies in the business of war, namely in the arms supply chains and also in covert operations, all of which have often resulted in consequent severe violations of human rights, from Nicaragua to Armenia, from D.R. Congo to Afghanistan and Rwanda.

What should the UN Programme of Action PrepCom 2012 Achieve?
UN Small Arms Process

The purpose of the PrepCom is to lay the groundwork for the RevCon, 27 August – 7 September 2012. The PrepCom is expected to produce a draft agenda for the RevCon i.e. which solutions to the problem of gun violence are open for discussion.