30 maj ”WORDS OVER BULLETS” CAMPAIGN WEEK 30 MAY – 4 JUNE
The Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weaponsis relaunching the campaign “Words over Bullets” this week on 30th of May – 4th of June.
We want to take this opportunity to highlight the problem with Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)-related violence around the world. The objectiveis to contribute to global awareness on the importance of preventing and reducing SALW-related violence to reach sustainable development and human security. It includes short films, photos and messages on this subject from parliamentarians, civil society and other relevant actors that represent different regions of the world.
The Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons is an international organisation gathering parliamentarians globally across party political lines. As established in the Strategic Plan 2016-2018, the overall objective aims to contribute to the achievement of more peaceful and developed societies through parliamentary action against armed violence for increased human security. The Forum is the only global organisation to gather parliamentarians with the purpose of reducing and preventing armed violence, by specifically targeting SALW.the2030
The uncontrolled proliferation and misuse of SALWhas wide-spread human, economic and social costs; it hinders sustainable development and threatens human security. On June 18-29, 2018 the Third Revision Conference (RevCon3) of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA) will be held in New York. As a preparatory strategy, we created our initiative “Connecting the Dots”supported by UN Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR). In collaboration with the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament, the Pan-African Parliament and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly AIPA, parliamentarians, civil society, international organisations and diplomatic community have been gathered.
“Connecting The Dots” contributes to strengthen the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the UNPoA through increased parliamentary engagement and action in international processes. An approach we believe is key for change! Conclusions & insights from our regional seminars are valuable knowledge when we participate at the up-coming RevCon3 of the UNPoA.
Furthermore, the uncontrolled proliferation and misuse of SALW threatens democracy and good governance, facilitates violations of human rights, and contributes to the persistence of armed conflict in all parts of the world. The issue of SALW was acknowledged internationally by the inclusion of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 in the 2030 Agenda, which recognises the reduction of illicit arms flows as vital for sustainable development and peace.
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Methodologically the Parliamentary Forum’s work rests on two main pillars: Policy-shapingand capacity-building. The work is continuously coupled to relevant national, regional and international frameworks and processes.
The point of departure of the work of the Forum is the three key roles that parliamentarians possess to reduce and prevent SALW-related violence: the legislative, the over-sight and the awareness-raising functions. We provide a forum for parliamentarians, representatives from civil society, governments and international organisations to meet and discuss; as well as provide a valuable support for parliamentarians in their work.
Definition of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), as based on the 1997 UN Panel of Governmental Expert (available on www.un.org)that considers portability a defining characteristic.
The Panel’s list 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. The Panel’s list is organised into ’small arms’ and ’light weapons’:
- 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.
Sources that are used in the campaign:
Amnesty International, 2017, ‘Geneva: As global arms trade surges, states greenlight reckless, harmful deals’ (accessed 2018-05-25) https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/09/geneva-as-global-arms-trade-surges-states-greenlight-reckless-harmful-deals/#_ftn4
Arms Trade Treaty Secretariat, 2018, The Arms Trade Treaty (accessed 2018-05-23) http://www.thearmstradetreaty.org/index.php/en/the-arms-trade-treaty
Arms Trade Treaty, 2018, ‘Status as of May 2018’ (accessed 2018-05-23) http://www.thearmstradetreaty.org/images/Status_lists/List_of_ATT_States_Parties_by_order_of_deposit22_May_2018.pdf
Mänsklig Säkerhet, 2018, ’Väpnat våld i USA och världen: tragiska masskjutningar – hoppingivande massmobilisering’ (accessed 2018-05-23)
Parliamentary Forum, 2016, ‘Policy Statement on Sustainable Development Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda’ (accessed 2018-05-23) http://parliamentaryforum.org/sites/default/files/parlforum_policy_statement_sdg16.pdf
Parliamentary Forum, 2017, ‘Policy Statement on Youth, peace and Security’ (accessed 2018-05-23) http://www.parliamentaryforum.org/sites/default/files/policy_statement_on_youth_peace_and_security.pdf
Parliamentary Forum, 2017, ‘Fifteenth Anniversary Publication (2002-2017)’ (accessed 2018-05-23) http://parliamentaryforum.org/sites/default/files/fifteenth_anniversary_publication-_final-eng_0.pdf
Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council, 2015, ‘Small Arms and Light Weapons’ (accessed 2018-05-22) http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2015/289
Small Arms Survey, 2016, ‘Firearms and Violent Deaths’ (accessed 2018-05-25) http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-60.pdf
Small Arms Survey, 2016, ‘A Gendered Analysis of Violent Deaths’ (accessed 2018-05-25) http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-63.pdf
United Nations, 2017, Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (accessed 2018-05-23) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg16
United Nation Office for Disarmament Affairs, 2018, Programme of Action on small arms and its International Tracing Instrument (accessed 2018-05-23) https://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/salw/programme-of-action/
United nation Human rights, 1990, Convention on the Rights of the Child (accessed 2018-05-23) http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx
Small Arms Survey, 2016, ‘A Gendered Analysis of Violent Deaths’ (accessed 2018-05-25) http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-63.pdf
United Nation Security Council, 2000, Resolution 1325 (2000) (accessed 2018-05-22) http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/WPS%20SRES1325%20.pdf
United Nations, 2013, The Arms Trade Treaty (accessed 2018-05-25) https://unoda-web.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/English7.pdf
United Nations Development Programme, 2014, ‘UNDP Youth Strategy 2014- 2017: Empowered Youth, Sustainable Future’ (accessed 2018-05-25) http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/Youth/UNDP_Youth-Strategy-2014-17_Web.pdf
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 70/1, 2015, ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ (accessed 2018-05-25) http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/Resolution_A_RES_70_1_EN.pdf
Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom, 2015, ‘Women, Weapons and War’ (accessed 2018-05-23) http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Publications/women-weapons-war.pdf
World Health Organization, 2016, factsheet ‘Youth Violence’ (accessed 2018- 05-25) http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs356/en/
World Health Organization, 2017, factsheet ‘Violence against women’ (accessed 2018-05-25) http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/