IANSA Update 14 March 2008

Dutch arms broker set free by court
Southern Sudan: Collected guns must be stored securely
Iraqi survivors' coalition launched
International Women's Day activities
Christiane Agboton-Johnson becomes UNIDIR Deputy Director
Other news: Other news: Lebanon interview, German guns in Nigeria, FOSDA helps police in Ghana, Caribbean statement
Correction

Dutch arms broker set free by court

Just a few days after one international gunrunner was arrested, another has been set free. The Russian Viktor Bout was detained on 6 March, but the Dutch arms broker Guus van Kouwenhoven saw his conviction overturned on 10 March. Van Kouwenhoven was sentenced to 8 years in prison in 2006 when a Dutch court found him guilty of violating the UN arms embargo on Liberia. But the Court of Appeal overturned this decision due to concerns about the reliability of the witness testimonies. Read more here.

Southern Sudan: Collected guns must be stored securely

Southern Sudanese civil society has welcomed the creation of a small arms bureau within the office of the Vice-President of Southern Sudan. The statement, endorsed by 60 organisations, also expressed concern that some weapons collected in disarmament programs were not stored securely and so returned to civilian possession. The organisations, including those belonging to the Southern Sudanese Action Network on Small Arms (SSANSA), were participating in a workshop on community security and small arms control coordinated by Saferworld in Juba, 11-13 March. IANSA Africa Coordinator Joseph Dube also attended alongside UN agencies, international NGOs and other small arms experts. Read more here.

Iraqi survivors' coalition launched
Thirty organisations representing over 150,000 people with disabilities from across Iraq formed the Iraqi Alliance of Disability Organisations (IADO) on 28 February. The Alliance includes organisations that assist survivors of gun violence, and is supported by Mercy Corps. It will seek to raise awareness and change legislation and policies regarding persons with disabilities. Read more here.

International Women's Day activities
Campaigners from around the world celebrated International Women's Day on 8 March. IANSA Director Rebecca Peters spoke at an event organised by the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF) in Geneva. Read more here.

Christiane Agboton-Johnson becomes UNIDIR Deputy Director
Dr Christiane Agboton-Johnson is the new Deputy Director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in Geneva. Christiane was previously President of the Movement Against Small Arms in West Africa (MALAO), based in Senegal. She has been a long-time member of IANSA and our Women's Network, and we wish her all the best in her new position. Read more here.

Other news

• The Lebanese newspaper Al Balad published a two-page article on the small arms problem on 5 March, featuring an interview with IANSA member Fadi Abi Allam of the Permanent Peace Movement (PPM):
• German Heckler & Koch G3 assault weapons are being used in violence in Nigeria, according to IANSA member Roman Deckert of BITS (Germany). His article has appeared in the Guardian newspaper (Nigeria).
• In Ghana, 31 police officers from 6 northern police districts received training in the use of metal detectors from the Foundation for Security in Africa (FOSDA). The new metal detectors, donated by FOSDA with support from Oxfam GB and SIDA, will be used to help police combat illicit small arms trafficking. Read more here.
• A statement from the Caribbean Parliamentary meeting organised by WINAD in Port of Spain (Trinidad), 5-6 March is available here.

CORRECTION to previous Update - in the headlines, we incorrectly located the Angola small arms meeting in Mozambique. We are very sorry for this mistake..

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