14 dec LAUNCHING NOW – #WORDS OVER BULLETS CAMPAIGN IS LIVE – 20Th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORUM
Today marks the relaunch of our social media campaign Words Over Bullets, which is being launched in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons (the Forum). We warmly welcome you to take part in the campaign by interacting with us on Facebook and Twitter, under the hashtags #WordsOverBullets and #PFSALW20Years.
The campaign aims to raise global awareness on the importance of parliamentary action to prevent and reduce Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)-related violence for sustainable development and peace. In light of the current state of the world, with ongoing armed conflicts and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more crucial than ever that parliamentarians take action for more peaceful and sustainably developed societies.
Year 2022 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Forum, and several initiatives are realised to highlight the anniversary and the continued importance of parliamentary action for the reduction of illicit flows of SALW for sustainable development and peacebuilding.
Such initiatives include the 20th Anniversary seminar that was realised in the Swedish Parliament today and the launch of the 20th Anniversary Publication. Both initiatives focus on the key challenges and opportunities in the prevention and reduction of the illicit flows of SALW globally as to contribute to more peaceful and sustainably developed societies. Additionally, it contains the main lessons learned from 20 years´ of work of preventing SALW-related violence, as well as the key priorities looking ahead.
20th Anniversary Publication
The Forum is pleased to announce the launch of its 20th Anniversary Publication! The Publication contains contributions from members of the Forum, civil society representatives and other vital stakeholders, sharing their experiences and perspective from working to prevent and reduce the illicit flows of SALW. The Publication highlights developments; main challenges and opportunities related to the prevention of SALW-related violence and the key achievements on behalf of the Forum’s and its members.
Welcome to read the 20th Anniversary Publication here.
About the Forum
As established in the Strategic Plan 2019-2022, the Theory of Change of the Forum is to contribute to the achievement of more peaceful and sustainably developed societies by enhancing parliamentary action in the implementation and universalisation of international frameworks relevant to the prevention and reduction of SALW-related violence through capacity building, policy shaping and awareness raising.
The Forum is the only membership-based organisation gathering parliamentarians globally across party-political lines, specifically related to the reduction and prevention of SALW-related violence.
The uncontrolled proliferation and misuse of SALW have widespread human, economic and social costs; it hinders sustainable development and threatens human security. Furthermore, it threatens democracy and good governance, facilitates violations of human rights, and contributes to the persistence of armed conflicts in all parts of the world. This was acknowledged internationally by the inclusion of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 in the 2030 Agenda, target 16.4, which recognises the reduction of illicit arms flows as vital for sustainable development and peace.
Methodologically the Forum’s work rests on three main pillars: capacity building, policy shaping and awareness raising. The work is continuously connected to relevant national, regional, and international frameworks and processes. The points of departure of the work of the Forum are the three key roles of parliamentarians: the legislative, the oversight and the awareness-raising functions. The Forum pursues a multi-stakeholder approach working together with parliamentarians, governments, international organisations, and civil society organisations.
Definition of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)*
*Based on the 1997 UN Panel of Governmental Expert (available on www.un.org) that considers portability a defining characteristic.
SALW includes civilian, private, and military weapons that fire a projectile with the condition that the unit or system may be carried by an individual, a small number of people, or transported by a pack animal or a light vehicle.
- Small arms: revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, assault rifles, sub-machine guns and light machine guns.
- Light weapons: heavy machine guns, hand-held under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft guns, portable anti-tank guns, recoilless rifles, portable launchers of anti-tank missile and rocket systems; portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS) and mortars of calibres of less than 100 mm.
Campaign sources
A Global Study on the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (n.d.). Women´s participation and a better understanding of the political. https://wps.unwomen.org/participation/
Institute for Economics & Peace (2022). Global Peace Index 2022. https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GPI-2022-web.pdf
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (2021). New IPU report: more women in parliament and more countries with gender parity. https://bit.ly/3UV69wK
IPU (2021). Youth participation in national parliaments. https://www.ipu.org/youth2021
Small Arms Survey (2022). Global Violent Deaths in 2020. https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/resource/global-violent-deaths-2020
The Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons (The Forum) (2020). Policy Statement on the Role of Parliamentarians for the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda, Goal 16.4 in a Changing World affected by COVID-19. https://bit.ly/3PC9obL
The Forum (2016). Policy Statement on Women, Peace and Security. https://parliamentaryforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Policy-Statement-on-Women-Peace-and-Security-.pdf
The Forum (2017). Policy Statement on Youth, Peace and Security. https://parliamentaryforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Policy-Statement-on-Youth-Peace-and-Security-.pdf
United Nations, Department for Economic and Social Affairs (2020). Sustainable Development Outlook 2020: Achieving the SDGs in the wake of COVID-19: Scenarios for policymakers. https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/SDO2020_Book.pdf
United Nations, Department for Economic and Social Affairs (2015). Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
