IANSA Update 21 November 2008

Ireland: Second country in Europe to ban handguns
Finland: Petition for handgun ban
UN Security Council discusses Article 26; states endorse ATT
DR Congo: IANSA member's family massacred
Other news: 1600 firearms collected in Angolan campaign; Women's Network mobilises for 16 Days of Activism; online disarmament game; WN coordinator at University of Ireland

Ireland: Second country in Europe to ban handguns
The Republic of Ireland will become the second country in Europe to ban handguns, after the United Kingdom However, unlike the UK, which imposed the ban in response to the Dunblane school shooting in 1996, the Irish government decided to act before a major tragedy involving handguns occurs. Under the new law no new licences will be issued for handguns and existing licenses will not be renewed unless applications fully meet the requirements of a radically tightened licensing procedure. Read more here

Finland: Petition for handgun ban
Meanwhile in Finland, more than 57,000 people demanding a ban on handguns signed a petition which was presented to the government on 11 November. The call for the ban follows Finland's second mass shooting in less than a year. A 20 year old student shot dead 9 students and a teacher before killing himself at a college in Kauhajoki last September. Laura Lodenius from Peace Union of Finland said: "This huge mobilisation from civil society is a great achievement. The Finnish population has really woken up since the Kauhajoki tragedy and there is a new atmosphere for change." Read more here.

UN Security Council discusses Article 26; states endorse ATT
At least 15 countries endorsed the proposed Arms Trade Treaty on 19 November during a UN Security Council debate on Article 26 of the UN charter. Article 26 calls for States to establish a system to regulate weapons so as to minimise the diversion of the world's human and economic resources to armaments. The debate was convened by Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica, which chairs the Security Council at present, Statements supporting the ATT came from Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, Tanzania and the UK. Most states made reference to the UN Programme of Action on small arms, and some also mentioned the Clusters Munitions Treaty or the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development.
Read more here
Webcast

DR Congo: IANSA member's family massacred
Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has touched the IANSA community once again. Reverend Jules Renzano Kasunzu, director of the group Umoja as One, lost six members of his family in the massacre at Kiwanja, near Goma between 4-6 November. The victims, all killed by small arms, included Rev Renzano's brother, Lauran Kasunzu, whose children are now being cared for in Nairobi. IANSA sends its sincere condolences to Rev Renzano and all civilians affected by the ongoing armed violence in DRC. The UN Security Council voted on 20 November to send 3,000 more troops to the DRC, increasing MONUC's troops to around 20,000. It was not clear at the time of writing from where the troops will come. Read more here.

Other news

• Nearly 1600 firearms of assorted calibres were handed in to the police in Angola, under the second phase of the National Campaign to Disarm People in illegal Possession of Firearms.
• 30 organisations from the IANSA Women's Network are holding events to mark the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, 25 November-10 December. Read more here.
  
• A new computer game designed to stimulate interest in disarmament has been developed by Finland, the current chair of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The game is based on Tetris.
  
• IANSA Women's Network Coordinator Sarah Masters gave a seminar to students in the Global Women's Studies Programme at the National University of Ireland, Galway on 19 November. Sarah provided a gender perspective on small arms, and gave examples of how feminist/ gender academic projects can participate in IANSA's advocacy efforts.
  

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