Call to Action on Gender and Small Arms Control (Updated) (April 2021)

The purpose of this Call to Action is to set out the priorities of civil society organisations working towards enhancing gender mainstreaming and ensuring the full and effective participation of women in arms control and peace and security initiatives.

This Call builds on the Call to Action issued by IANSA in 2018 prior to the Third United Nations Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (RevCon3) and identifies priorities for States to address during the Seventh Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (BMS7) in July 2021.

The need for concerted and sustained action on gender and small arms control has never been clearer than during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has intensified violence against women particularly in, but not limited to, the domestic sphere, and is having a deeply regressive effect on gender equality.

We call upon all States to strengthen our collective efforts to advance peace, security and human rights through the following actions:

1. Operationalize the gender-related outcomes of the Third Review Conference on the UN Programme of Action (PoA) at community, national and regional levels;
2. Ensure women’s full and effective participation in all policymaking, planning, and implementation processes related to small arms and light weapons (SALW) control;
3. Collect sex and age-disaggregated data on SALW and support research to have a better analysis of the gendered impacts of SALW;
4. Achieve women’s full and effective participation and full involvement in all stages of peace negotiations and the security sector reform process;
5. Urgently take measures to address gender-based violence.