Email Alastair McKay (IANSA Communications Officer) for the contact details for the organisers of these events.
Algeria
* ATT support call
Amnesty International Algeria called on the public to support the online petition calling for US President Obama to support the Arms Trade Treaty.
Bahrain
* Call for ATT action
Amnesty International called for Bahrain to take an active role in the forthcoming UN discussions on an Arms Trade Treaty. AI’s Nasser Burdestani said: “Weapons acquired for national security can be diverted or misused to increase suffering and poverty within their own country or region. An ATT will be a crucial step towards this, and Bahrain support is urgently needed.” The Al-Waqt newspaper featured the story on 21 June.
Egypt
* Workshop on gun-free elections
Parliamentarians, journalists, youth activists and grassroots human rights organisations were among the participants in a workshop on gun-free elections. The elections will be held in 2010 at the latest. The workshop was organised by the Egyptian Organisation on Human Rights (EOHR) in Cairo on 28 June.
Iraq
* Peacebuilding effort embraces ATT
Three different sections of the community were involved in seminars on armed violence organised by the Iraqi Organisation for Rehabilitation of Society and Environment in Karbala, central Iraq. On 17 June, the participants were sheiks and other community leaders who agreed to work with the organisation to reduce gun violence. On 21 June Peace Corps and other peace groups took part, and on 23 June academics were involved. Throughout the week, the organisation hand-delivered information on their activities to the media in Karbala. Participants in the seminars committed to creating a forum for peacebuilding in Karbala, which will develop projects to reduce the supply and demand for small arms, including urging the government to support an Arms Trade Treaty.
* Posters highlight dangers of guns
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Posters were distributed to schools, government institutions, ministries and other public spaces in Basra, from 15-17 June. The posters included messages about the dangers of small arms, and the problem of child soldiers, citing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is 20 years old. The campaign was organised by Hadya Society For Human Rights & Community Development In Cooperation, in partnership with the small arms focal point at the Ministry of Interior.
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Jordan
* Shootings double in three years
The number of firearm casualties has almost doubled in three years, from 319 in 2006 to 626 in 2008, according to Major Ra'id Al-Assaf of the Public Security Department. Major Ra’id expressed his concern on this increasing gun violence at a workshop organised by the Amman Centre for Human Rights on 18 June. Other speakers included the Director of the News Department at the Jordanian Radio and Television Corporation, who described the activities of the media in promoting awareness of the dangers of aerial firing and misusing weapons. Stronger controls were desirable, said Deputy Ayman Shuwayyat, who is a member of the Legal Committee at the House of Representatives.
Lebanon
* Rap stars against guns
People enjoying a music festival in Beirut heard anti-gun hip hop songs and received flyers promoting the Control Arms Campaign for an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). 21 June was a music festival in the city, and 5 of the stages included singers promoting the campaign, organised by the Permanent Peace Movement (PPM). The anti-gun message received coverage on national TV and in newspapers, and on 25 June Future TV featured a 15 minute interview with members of PPM about this campaign.
Morocco
*Amnesty boss urges ATT support
Salah Abdellaoui, the general director of Amnesty International, Morocco, has urged his country’s government to play an active role in supporting the Arms Trade Treaty. In a letter to the Foreign Affairs ministry, he said it was vital that Morocco take action to convince other North African countries and members of the Arab League to get involved in the ATT process.
Tunisia
* Misuse of arms condemned
Kraifi Rabeh of Amnesty Tunisia addressed a meeting on the importance of the ATT on 19 June at Amnesty headquarters in Tunis. He condemned the authorities for the misuse of arms that has become a common occurrence in Tunisia.
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