IANSA Update 6 March 2009

Kenya: Human rights activist shot dead after UN Rapporteur condemns police abuses
Pakistan: ATT seminar in Islamabad; 30,000 guns distributed in NWFP
Yemen: Dar al-Salam promote arms control schools
IANSA: Last chance to take part in e-discussion on IANSA effectiveness
Other news: UN database on violence against women; Vacancy at Amnesty International Secretariat; candlelit vigil in New Delhi

Kenya: Human rights activist shot dead after UN Rapporteur condemns police abuses
An outspoken critic of the Kenyan government's alleged practice of extra-judicial killings has been shot dead along with a colleague in Nairobi. Oscar Kamau Kingara published a report last year, which said that 8,040 young Kenyans have been executed or tortured to death since 2002 in a police crackdown on a gang known as the Mungiki. He was shot dead just hours after a government spokesman accused their group of aiding the gang. Many Kenyan human rights activists hold the government responsible the shooting. Kingara's murder comes one week after the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions said that police abuses in Kenya were both systematic and widespread. Read more here.

Pakistan: ATT seminar in Islamabad; 30,000 guns distributed in NWFP
Representatives from civil society and leading universities in Pakistan attended a major seminar on the ATT in Islamabad on Thursday 4 March. Presentations and discussions included the impact of the unregulated arms trade on Pakistan, the humanitarian aspect of an ATT, Pakistan's progress on the Programme of Action and what the ATT campaign can learn from the Mine Ban Treaty and its implementation. Raza Shah Khan (SPADO) and Naveed Shinwari (CAMP) spoke at the seminar, which was funded by the UK High Commission in Pakistan.

Also in Pakistan, IANSA members The Peace Foundation report that the North West Frontier Province police department and government sanctioned the distribution of 30,000 guns to the civilian population for village defence on 22 February. Maqsood Ahmad Salafi said: "Peace Foundation condemns this decision strongly. Releasing guns into the community is not the solution to the problems in the NWFP." Read more here.

Yemen: Dar al-Salam promote arms control schools
The Dar al-Salam Organization for Combating the Carrying of Weapons and Arms has completed a training course for Muslim clerics on combating extremism and small arms control. The event was sponsored by Yemen's Ministry of Endowment and Guidance and the Dutch Ministry of Development and is part of a strategy that seeks to establish up to 80 courses for both Islamic clerics and private educational institutions on preventing armed violence and terrorism. 85 male and female students from the Sana'a governorate took part in a theatrical performance on peace building, which was also produced and directed Dar Al-Salam. Read more here.

IANSA: Last chance to take part in e-discussion on IANSA effectiveness
This week is your last chance to tell us what you think about IANSA and take part in an evaluation to help us measure our impact and plan our future. Our members and colleagues are invited to share their opinions and ideas via the new e-discussion. Please help us to make IANSA more effective by participating!

Other news
During the recent Gaza conflict, war crimes were committed by both Israel and Palestinian armed groups using foreign-made weapons, according to a briefing by Amnesty International. Please email sscarpel@amnesty.org for campaign information on this briefing.

• The UN Secretary-General launched a database on violence against women during the Commission of the Status of Women in New York on 5 March. The database provides data on the prevalence of violence and criminal justice sector response and contains information on services for victims and survivors. Members of the IANSA WN addressed delegates at the CSW at a seminar which explained how the ATT could be used to prevent violence against women on 2 March. Read more here.
• Amnesty International are recruiting a researcher for their Military, Security and Police (MSP) team to monitor and report on the impact of MSP transfers and use for human rights violations and to contribute to the ATT campaign. IANSA Job Board.
• A candlelit vigil is planned for 7 March in Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, in protest against the killings of civilians in Manipur. Representatives from Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network are co-hosting the event. Read more here.

Please send your stories on developments in small arms from around the world to louise.rimmer@iansa.org

Join the IANSA Women's Network: email women@iansa.org

Join the Million Faces petition in support of a global Arms Trade Treaty