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Founding Document of IANSA
[this document is available
for download as an Acrobat file here]
Contents:
Introduction
I. IANSA Statement
of Purpose
II. Policy Framework
III. Program of Action
IV. Organizational Structure
INTRODUCTION
Along with broad sectors of civil
and political society, the international NGO community
has identified the proliferation of small arms as a serious
humanitarian challenge with implications for development
human rights and global justice. These NGOs are spread
across different regions and have a variety of priorities
and mandates to pursue enhanced human security and justice
in all its dimensions. However, all such organizations
have a role to play because each component of their work
contributes unique insights into, and energies toward,
reducing the threat posed by the proliferation of small
arms, and builds on and reinforces the efforts of others
in the common pursuit of just and peaceful change. Within
this context, the international NGO community has joined
together to work on small arms issues with a view to making
an important contribution toward the international struggle
for peace and justice.
From 17-19 August 1998, 45 individuals
representing 33 NGOs from 18 countries (8 northern and
10 southern) met in Canada to explore ways in which civil
society groups and institutions around the world could
work together more effectively to advance policies and
actions to control the diffusion and misuse of small arms,
and to respond to the devastating consequences of small
arms for individuals, local communities, states, and the
international community. The consensus which emerged from
this meeting favored the establishment of a network of
NGOs who could work together on a range of small arms-related
campaigns. The overall objective of the network was envisaged
as 'preventing the proliferation and unlawful use of light
weapons' under the banner of the International Action Network
on Small Arms (IANSA).
On 14 October 1998, a second international
NGO meeting on small arms was held in Brussels involving
180 participants representing over 100 NGOs from all around
the world. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss,
and reach agreement on the scope and nature of IANSA amongst
a wider international audience. A series of workshops sought
to explore the range of policy objectives, the campaign
and advocacy methods, and the organizational structure
of IANSA. The result of the meeting was the generation
of a unique sense of purpose and the conviction that working
together the international NGO community could bring about
constructive change. The outcomes of the Belgium and Canada
meetings have been merged together into one IANSA Founding
Document which is set out below.
All human beings have the right to
peace including the right to live in a secure, dignified
and humane environment. In the absence of these conditions,
however, the proliferation and misuse of small arms is
endangering personal security, undermining good governance,
contributing to violations of human rights, and frustrating
social justice, development, and peace in all parts of
the world.
Small arms abuse causes violent death,
injury, and psychological trauma to hundreds of thousands
of people each year. These casualties occur in the context
of national and regional conflicts (each with its own political,
economic, social, religious and ethnic dimensions and expressions)
as well as in abusive law enforcement practices, violent
repression of democratic rights and violations of the right
to self determination. The easy availability of small arms
is also directly linked to the increase in violent crime,
domestic assaults, suicides, and accidents. In the context
of political conflict, small arms help fuel violence and
insecurity which breeds the sort of fear and instability
which has led to the existence of millions of refugees
and internally displaced persons. Many of these human-made
tragedies could be prevented by controlling access to and
availability of small arms - domestically and internationally
- within the broader framework of measures to tackle the
root causes of conflict.
The international governmental community
is currently addressing the small arms issue at the local,
national, regional, and international levels. Government
initiatives to tackle the proliferation of small arms have
been welcomed by the international NGO community. However,
concerns remain that governments will take a piecemeal
approach, not least because many remain significant producers
and exporters of small arms. Thus, the international NGO
community believes that a co-ordinated independent effort
- both to support and challenge governmental action on
small arms - is essential in order to promote effective
global action to curb the proliferation and misuse of small
arms.
Toward these ends, we hereby come
together to establish the International NGO Action Network
on Small Arms (IANSA).
IANSA is created to facilitate international
NGO action that is fundamentally aimed at enhancing the
security of persons by preventing the proliferation and
misuse of small arms. At the same time, IANSA recognizes
that assuring human security is an essential part of efforts
to reduce demand for, and to control, small arms. It thus
seeks to contribute to a more just and violence-free global
environment in which sustainable peace, development, human
security, and respect for human rights can be achieved.
The first part of this document seeks
to articulate the basic approaches of IANSA to controlling
small arms and to mitigating the political, social and
economic conditions that generate excessive demand for
small arms. The second section is followed by one detailing
the range of activities and actions envisaged by IANSA
participants in working to prevent the proliferation and
unlawful use of small arms. The final section sets out
the basic structure of the Network, including an outline
of the roles and responsibilities of the individual operational
elements and the rights and responsibilities of individual
participants.
The participants of IANSA recognize
that the international trade in and diffusion of small
arms is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, touching
all levels of society in all parts of the world. As tools
of violence, there is clear evidence that small arms contribute
to human and societal destruction, compromise human rights
and the rule of law, and undermine political stability
and economic development. Many recognise that under the
circumstances small arms can have a legitimate use. The
IANSA network is committed to curbing the excessive build
up and abuse of such weapon. This effort will require a
comprehensive strategy involving civil society and concerned
governments working at local, national and international
levels
In order to break the cycle of underdevelopment,
violence and conflict which is fueled by the proliferation
of small arms, two types of policies must be pursued simultaneously
and with equal emphasis: those which address controlling
or limiting the trade in and diffusion of small arms; and
those which are directed towards reducing the demand for
these weapons.
A. Controlling availability and access
to small arms (Supply-side measures)
A combination of measures and instruments are required in order to curb
the trade in, and diffusion of, small arms. [This list is not exhaustive,
but is intended to illustrate the types of approaches and actions which
are espoused by IANSA participants.]
1. Controlling legal transfers between
states
Relevant transfer control measures include:
- Promoting national, regional and ultimately
global Codes of Conduct which require exporting states
to implement comprehensive and effective regulations to
prevent the supply of arms, ammunition, components and
technology where they might be used to:
-violate international human rights standards, whether in law enforcement
or armed conflict situations;
-breach international law including international humanitarian law
applicable to international and internal armed conflict;
-weaken civilian control over the military;
-fuel international aggression, state-sponsored paramilitary action
and regional instability;
-prevent adequate social spending or thwart sustainable development
programs.
- Promoting regional moratoria on
the import, export and production of small arms;
- Obliging all governments to rigorously
enforce UN and other international arms embargoes;
- Reducing the economic reliance
of states on arms production and sales;
- Establishing strict controls over
licensed production and co-production arrangements;
- Establishing a uniform and effective
system of end-use certification to control and monitor
the final destination and use of exported small arms.
2. Controlling the availability, use and
storage of small arms within states
Effective domestic control over small arms requires:
- Establishing laws and regulations
governing the ownership of small arms, including licensing
and registration arrangements, along with promotion of
the political will and technical capacity to enforce
those laws in a transparent and impartial fashion;
- Reducing the availability of weapons
to civilians in all societies;
- Stopping government-sponsored transfers
of weapons to paramilitaries, vigilantes and other armed
groups;
- Promoting safe storage practices
for small arms on the part of citizens and states (e.g.
armories);
- Integrating issues of small arms
control into the work of police, public health and other
institutions;
- Establishing regulations, training
and oversight to ensure compliance with international
human rights standards by state institutions, irregular
armed forces and citizens in their use of small arms;
- Providing resources to develop
the capacity in national and local governments to achieve
effective controls over small arms possession and use.
3. Preventing and combating illicit transfers
Measures to curb the illicit spread of small arms include:
- Promoting and developing local,
national, regional and international agreements for co-operation
in preventing illicit weapons trafficking;
- Developing and strictly implementing,
existing agreements on illicit weapons trafficking -
notably the OAS Convention, the UN ECOSOC firearms protocol,
and the EU Program for preventing and combating illicit
trafficking in conventional arms;
- Adopting practical control measures
at national, regional and international levels, such
as strengthened police and customs cooperation and improved
border controls;
- Implementing comprehensive, strict
controls over the activities of national and international
arms brokering agents, including a registration system
for arms brokering agents, measures to ensure the prosecution
of brokers operating illegally within national borders,
and the extension of controls to apply to nationals operating
in third countries;
- Providing international assistance
to help develop national and community capacity to combat
illicit trafficking in arms;
- Developing regional and international
registers on illicit arms trafficking including details
of illicit arms seized; illicit arms destroyed and a
list of all third party arms brokering agents convicted
of illegal brokering activities;
- Closing down illicit markets in
other commodities, such as drugs and precious stones,
particularly where there are links to the illicit weapons
trade.
4. Collecting and removing surplus
arms from both civil society and regions of conflict
Measures to remove surplus arms from circulation include:
- Systematic collection and destruction
of weapons which are illegally held by civilians, within
the context of international humanitarian and human rights
law as well as legal norms concerning internal conflicts
and recognition of irregular armed forces;
- Collection and verifiable destruction
of surplus weapons as part of UN peacekeeping operations;
- Systematic and publicly monitored
destruction of surplus weapons accumulated as a result
of arms control and disarmament agreements;
- Open destruction of weapons rendered
surplus by national equipment replacement programs;
- Promoting programs to encourage
citizens to surrender illegal, unsafe or unwanted firearms.
5. Increasing transparency and accountability
Measures to end secrecy and to promote open political processes related
to decisions on small arms, at all levels of government, include:
- Mechanisms which allow for prior
parliamentary and civil society scrutiny of all arms
export license applications;
- Full parliamentary and public notification
of weapons sales, imports and holdings through national,
regional and international annual reports and registers;
- Establishing and maintaining complete
national and regional inventories of arms and ammunition
and related equipment held by security forces and other
state bodies;
- Exchanging information on holdings
and production of small arms, on a regional basis, to
promote a common understanding of appropriate levels
of armaments required for national self-defense;
- Strengthening systems for national
registration and marking of arms at the point of manufacture
and import to enhance capacity to trace and monitor arms
flows;
- Forming an international arrangement
or mechanism which could monitor adherence to international
norms and rules regarding arms transfers in order that
violations may be brought to the attention of appropriate
bodies;
- Regular reporting to the UN Register
of Conventional Arms and supporting its extension in
scope to include some categories of light weapons,
- Establishing regional registers
containing information on the transfer, import and procurement
through national production of small arms;
- Enhancing the role of civil society
in monitoring transfers and use of small arms at national,
regional and international levels;
- Providing resources for capacity
building to enable rigorous parliamentary scrutiny of
arms export policy in practice.
6. Support for research and information
sharing
NGOs have a special role in advancing research and the dissemination
of information, including:
- Tracking and monitoring transfers
and movements of small arms;
- Examining patterns of injury and
death rates associated with the use of small arms;
- Exploring a variety of forms of
early warning data collection, interpretation and dissemination;
- Exchanging information on small
arms-related policy developments which emerge at national,
regional and international levels;
- Researching the patterns and sources
of international support for mercenaries and externally
organized insurgencies as well as breaches of international
arms embargoes.
B. Reducing demand for small arms
Demand for small arms, on the part
of individuals, non-state actors, and states, is fueled
by conditions of insecurity, oppression and instability.
Positive economic, political and social environments are
necessary to reduce this demand. Accordingly, policies
designed to limit the availability of small arms should
be pursued alongside a wide range of efforts to promote
human security as well as social and political security
and stability, encompassing the right to self-determination.
Such efforts should include support for peace-building,
conflict prevention, non-violent conflict resolution, human
rights and good governance, and social and economic development.
Indeed, special care should be taken to ensure that measures
to control small arms do not consume resources available
for economic and social development and other measures
designed to mitigate demand.
Beyond basic efforts to create the
conditions for sustainable peace and stability, a number
of additional, and more focused, measures are necessary
in order to help reduce demand for small arms. [This list
is not exhaustive, but is intended to illustrate the types
of approaches and actions which are advocated by IANSA
participants.]
1. Reversing cultures of violence
Efforts to counter cultural encouragement of violence and illicit gun
use include:
- Addressing social conditioning
that promotes male attitudes of support for violence;
- Challenging the glorification of
violence by the mass media, and in particular, the glamorization
of gun use and the linking of gun possession to masculinity;
- Encouraging community based programs
which educate citizens about the dangers of small arms;
- Banning the advertisement and promotion
of small arms to civilians;
- Promoting the peaceful resolution
of conflict at all levels of society through community
and public education projects;
- Promotion of cultures of solidarity,
peace and non-violence.
2. Reforming the security sector
Measures to foster public confidence in the capacity of public security
institutions to assure their security include:
- Establishing political and legal
systems to ensure effective civilian control and monitoring
of the military and of police and other law enforcement
institutions;
- Ensuring that law enforcement officials
are given human rights training together with adequate
remuneration in order to avoid bribery and the 'turning
a blind eye' to illicit small arms possession, use or
transfer;
- Withholding aid to security forces
which are corrupt or which display a poor attitude towards
safeguarding human rights and encouraging the disbanding
of units with a particularly poor record;
- Requiring the same standards of
respect for human rights from irregular armed forces;
- Reducing military expenditure to
the lowest level possible;
- Establishing internationally accepted
guidelines for the operation of private security forces
and outlawing of the use of mercenaries.
3. Creating norms of non-possession
Linked to efforts to tackle cultures of violence, efforts to discourage
gun possession and use include:
- Developing local, national and
regional public education and awareness campaigns aimed
at de-legitimizing the possession of weapons as part
of a process of building trust in impartial public security
institutions;
- Eliminating the conditions that
foster reliance on, and use of, private arms for self-defense
and violent struggle;
- Stigmatizing the use of certain
types or categories of small arms, particularly those
with increased lethality and firepower.
4. Enhancing demobilization and reintegration
programs
Efforts to ensure the effective and sustainable demobilization and reintegration
of former combatants include:
- Tackling the economic incentives
for the possession and use of weapons by providing former
combatants with alternative, secure sources of income;
- Ensuring that disarmament and demobilization
programs are supported by sustained reintegration and
reconciliation programs which help former combatants
to be accepted back into civil society;
- Providing sufficient funds to ensure
that demobilization and reintegration programs are pursued
to their optimal conclusion;
- Promoting recognition of the fact
that reintegration of combatants is a long term process;
- Paying particular attention to
the role that education and rehabilitation can play in
helping divided societies to create social capital and
networks of confidence and cooperation
5. Halting the use of child combatants
The increasing use of children as combatants - linked to the ease of
use and availability of small arms - needs to be tackled by a range
of measures, including:
- Making it a criminal offense to
abduct or otherwise recruit children for active combat
roles;
- Promoting special education programs
aimed at teaching children the horrors of war, countering
the trivialization of armed conflict and challenging
the glorification of weapons;
- Adopting and supporting special
measures in order to reintegrate child combatants into
society through culturally appropriate psychosocial trauma
counseling and education programs
- Demanding that all countries revise
legislation to prohibit military recruitment or enlistment
below the age of 18.
6. Combating impunity
Efforts to tackle the impunity which often fuels cycle of violence and
retribution include:
- Developing international norms
and institutions which seek to hold perpetrators of violence
legally accountable for their crimes, including state-sponsored
crimes;
- Supporting and building the capacity
of local justice systems to guarantee the rights of individuals.
7. Tackling poverty and underdevelopment
Measures to tackle poverty, underdevelopment and unequal access to resources
- which stimulate conflict and drive demand for small arms - include:
- Addressing systemic patterns of
trade and income inequalities between North and South;
- Debt cancellation for the poorest
countries and substantial debt remission for middle income
countries, including those emerging from prolonged violent
conflict;
- Recognition of the linkage between
structural adjustment programs and citizen insecurity;
- Investing in urban and rural regeneration
programs in order to break the link between poverty and
gun-related crime;
- Encouraging post-conflict development
and reconstruction programs which tackle unequal access
to resources and other causes of violence;
- Promoting policy 'coherence' in
order to ensure that aid and trade relationships are
mutually reinforcing and work to reduce conditions that
fuel the demand for arms.
It is recognized that effective small
arms action will require a broad range of initiatives and
methodologies in the years ahead. Rather than a single "campaign",
a multiplicity of efforts will be needed and a wide variety
of actors will have roles to play. IANSA will provide a
transnational framework under which groups and organizations,
working as coalitions or otherwise, and operating at the
local, national, regional and international levels, can
organize around particular concerns and issues (see Policy
Framework, section II). This network facility will not
only provide a range of services to the development and
effective functioning of particular campaigns and initiatives,
it will also provide a mechanism for overall strategic
development and cohesiveness of small arms action within
a framework of respect for the autonomy of local and national
efforts, and with special recognition and support for regional
efforts.
A range of the types of necessary
tasks which IANSA could help to fulfill have been identified
below. [The list is not tended to be exhaustive, but offers
examples of the kinds of action that IANSA is created to
undertake.]
1. Constituency building
Supporting and developing the network of organizations and interests
which are concerned to combat the proliferation and unlawful use
of small arms includes:
- Identifying and bringing on board
positive new constituencies and helping to consolidate
existing ones (e.g. police, professional armed forces,
business, legal, health, children's rights);
- Assisting NGO and community capacity
building, particularly in regions and localities where
the use of weapons and violence is most problematic,
and where NGOs are under-resourced, in order to facilitate
their playing a full role in IANSA;
- Encouraging the effective participation
of women, youth, faith organizations, traditional leaders,
and community based initiatives with local accountability;
- Identifying "gaps" where groups
concerned with small arms are absent or under-represented;
- Encouraging support for IANSA's
aims amongst commerce and industry which is negatively
affected by the global proliferation of small arms, for
example, the travel and tourism industry.
2. Co-ordinating and mobilizing international
NGO action
Assisting effective transnational mobilization and networking for particular
campaigns or initiatives includes:
- Facilitating the launching of "sub-campaigns" around
specific policy objectives as needed;
- Encouraging and assisting partnerships
between different organizations in different parts of
the world on specific small arms issues;
- Supporting ongoing national and
regional consultations to develop and co-ordinate appropriate
advocacy strategies and campaign actions which can be
taken forward nationally, regionally and/or internationally;
- Utilizing opportunities to raise
small arms concerns within work on related issues such
as conflict prevention and community development;
- Building up the capacity of the
network to respond - quickly, effectively and in a coordinated
fashion - to important international developments on
small arms;
- Mobilizing international opinion
to support domestic actions where local NGOs have scope
for influencing domestic policy;
- Identifying and expanding the pool
of financial and human resources required for particular
campaigns or initiatives;
- Building solidarity within and
between groups and initiatives in order to assist action
groups at risk in their work.
3. Information sharing
Ensuring that IANSA participants have optimal access to the same level
of information resources includes:
- Establishing a yearly calendar
of high profile meetings and events, such as at the UN,
around which IANSA participants can coordinate work on
small arms;
- Establishing regular information
bulletins which ensure that all IANSA participants are
aware of and can engage in the ongoing work of the network;
- Developing and utilizing email
networks, supplementing information dissemination through
traditional (non-electronic) systems, to ensure that
all IANSA participants are kept informed of significant
developments relating to small arms;
- Building capacity for all IANSA
participants to engage in electronic network participation;
- Communicating the voice from the
ground - i.e. enhancing the capacity of communities and
grass roots NGOs to gather and disseminate information
on small arms from 'the field';
- Raising the profile of practical
projects being run by NGOs to tackle demand for small
arms or to remove weapons from society.
4. Developing culturally appropriate "message" strategies
Developing clear messages which effectively communicate IANSA's concerns
to a wide audience includes:
- Producing short, focused and accessible
campaign documents which can engage NGOs and the public
on specific small arms issues of particular concern;
- Developing key slogans and popular
language for different campaign themes;
- Ensuring that campaigns, media
and policy work maintain the human link wherever possible
by, for example, 'putting a face on the victims';
- Developing a who's who of IANSA
participants - backed by a bibliography of written materials
- so that the public, parliamentarians and the media
can approach individual organizations according to the
particular focus of their interest;
- Enlisting, where appropriate, the
support of respected and popular public figures to convey
campaign messages to the media and public;
- Using networks of former combatants
to educate the public, policy makers and opinion shapers
about the real horrors of war and small arms related
violence and the possibilities of practical peace-building.
5. Campaigning and advocacy strategies
Developing a variety of advocacy strategies and activities to achieve
IANSA's policy objectives will involve:
- Exploring the possibility of developing
small IANSA working groups in order to develop and coordinate
medium-term advocacy strategies specific to each campaign;
- Identifying two or three campaign
foci for the first year or two of IANSA in order to provide
a focus around which network participants can rally and
interest can be created;
- Establishing a rolling program
of action with the development of new campaign foci as
appropriate;
- Developing campaign literature
and resources (action packs), outlining the types of
campaign actions envisaged, which can be easily disseminated
to network participants;
- Identifying key target audiences
in relation to each specific small arms campaign;
- "Stigmatizing" actions of state
and non-state actors seen to be contributing to the problem
small arms, and developing strategies for encouraging
positive change and conformity with international standards;
- Providing space for the development
of regional strategies and frameworks appropriate and
sensitive to local conditions, particularly in the South.
6. Identifying research and evaluation
needs
Ensuring that IANSA participants address all aspects of the proliferation
and misuse of small arms will involve:
- Facilitating the development of
a policy and advocacy community on small arms issues
in regions where it does not exist or where it is not
well developed;
- Undertaking coordinated policy-related
research on the key advocacy and campaign themes of IANSA;
- Encouraging data collection and
dissemination on the spread and misuse of small arms
by groups working on the ground;
- Conducting research into areas
where little is known of the link to small arms, for
example, the role of third parties in instigating insurgencies
and local arms trafficking, the role of Western intelligence
agencies in supplying arms, the militarization of both
the drug and the anti-drug trafficking campaigns, and
the links between small arms trafficking and trafficking
in other commodities.
7. Monitoring the international political
and social context of small arms
Monitoring adherence with international norms and rules regarding the
proliferation of small arms includes:
- Critically assessing the arms
export and development aid policies of suppliers of small
arms;
- Evaluating adherence to international
human rights standards and international humanitarian
law in the use of small arms by government and non-government
groups;
- Promoting discussion of international
norms and standards relating to the proliferation small
arms at local, national, regional and international levels;
- Developing mechanisms for monitoring
the implementation of disarmament initiatives.
To develop and manage the international
action network, some infrastructure is required - to promote
the aims of the Network and to help to provide the services
and fulfill the functions outlined in the previous section.
The initial institutional structures for IANSA are described
below. These early structures and guidelines will periodically
be reviewed, and it is envisaged that they will be revised
and developed as IANSA evolves.
IANSA itself should be inclusive,
and open to individuals, non-governmental organizations,
community groupings and professional associations which
promote and respect human rights and which broadly support
the aims, policy objectives and overall program of action
of the Network. Participants of IANSA will have a variety
of interests, needs and priorities, and should respect,
and be supportive of, the differing needs and priorities
of other participants. Applications for participantship
will be vetted by the Facilitations Committee in the first
instance and ultimately by the Reference Group.
In order to join the International
Action Network on Small Arms, all participants of IANSA
must fulfill the following criteria. They must:
- Support at least some, if not
all of IANSA's policy objectives (at section II of this
Document) and must not oppose or advocate opposition
to those objectives which they do not explicitly support.
- Be prepared to speak only from
their perspective as an IANSA participant and not for
other participants of IANSA.
- Be vigilant in ensuring that their
actions, and the actions of other participants, serve
only to reinforce and strengthen the Network and do not
threaten or undermine its influence, effectiveness or
cohesion.
The Reference Group (RG) is responsible
for the overall management, governance, and program objectives
of the network. The NGO participants at the Canadian meeting
(August 17-19, 1998) constitute the Reference Group in
the first instance (See Appendix II). This group will be
expanded through the addition of new participants willing
and able to contribute to the governance of IANSA, according
to a transparent nomination and acceptance procedure to
be determined by the Group. Its composition should reflect
regional and gender diversity, balance participants' expertise
and specificity, and include a wide range of organizational
technical expertise including advocacy, grassroots campaign
organizations, and research. The Reference Group reserves
the right to refuse participantship to any individual or
organization who's interests are inimical to those of IANSA.
The Facilitating Committee (FC) is
responsible to the Reference Group for the week-to-week
management and development of the Network. Its participants
will be nominated and selected by the RG, taking into account
the same composition and principles as the RG, and will
be chosen so that participantship of the committee is both
expressive of the diversity of the Network and capable
of carrying-out the substantial work required. participantship
of the FC should rotate periodically, with participants
serving limited terms although - to ensure uniformity -
all participants' terms should not expire at the same time.
- The responsibilities of the Facilitating
Committee will include:
Consolidating and expanding the Network to include participants from
the full range of desired constituencies and regions;
- Ensuring that the desired services
and functions of IANSA are developed and maintained,
including associated fundraising;
- Identifying and pursuing strategic
opportunities to develop the network and promote its
goals;
- Managing the Secretariat of IANSA.
It will carry out this work within
guidelines set by the Reference Group.
The Secretariat will be established
to help to provide the required services for network participants,
and to help the Facilitating Committee to build the capacity
and pursue the goals of the Network. The Secretariat will
operate in a way that strengthens decentralized capacity
within the network.
Functions of the Secretariat will
include:
- Disseminating information on small
arms policy issues;
- Facilitating the development of
different campaigns involving network participants from
different regions;
- Maintaining the links and building
bridges between IANSA participants;
- Matching participants' affinities
in order to build coalitions on specific issues
- Supporting the fund-raising actions
of IANSA participants.
Some international services may be
provided by other organizations, for example, the dissemination,
exchange and management of relevant public information
amongst network participants.
There remains the possibility to create
regional secretariats which could coordinate activities
in certain regions or sub-regions. The work of any regional
secretariats should nevertheless complement and reinforce
the work of the main Secretariat.
Participants of the network continue to
be responsible for their own work on small arms issues. The
Facilitating Committee, the Secretariat, and all individual
participants of IANSA have no mandate to represent or speak
on behalf of IANSA in policy debates.
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