IANSA Update 25 April 2008

Zimbabwe arms ship update
UN Secretary-General calls for integrating armed violence with development initiatives
Macedonia: Appeal for gun-free elections
Canada: Ontario proposes law to ban illegal guns in cars
Other news: Latin American seminar on armed violence and development, Kenya bulletin, UNDP job

Zimbabwe arms ship update

A ship carrying a shipment of Chinese arms intended for Zimbabwe is currently docked in Luanda (Angola), according to a press release by the Angolan government, which states that the weapons will not be offloaded. We reported on this ship in our 18 April update. On 24 April, a spokesperson from the Chinese government said the ship had been recalled back to China. This is a significant success for civil society, including dockworkers, church leaders and lawyers. The latest information on the ship, and the campaign to prevent the arms reaching Zimbabwe can be found here.

Please promote our petition to stop the Zimbabwe arms shipment, which is also posted on the Avaaz website. Over 90,000 people have signed to date. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has supported the actions of dockworkers across Southern Africa to stop the shipment. Among religious leaders, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has also supported the campaign, and the World Council of Churches issued a supportive statement on 25 April.
ITF
WCC

UN Secretary-General calls for integrating armed violence with development initiatives

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recommends setting measurable goals for reducing armed violence and integrating national small arms plans into poverty reduction strategies. These are two of the 13 recommendations in the Secretary-General's first report on small arms to the UN Security Council, published on 17 April. Read more here.

Macedonia: Appeal for gun-free elections
The parliamentary elections in Macedonia on 1 June must be gun-free, say CIVIL, in an appeal launched on 19 April. CIVIL's Xhabir Deralla was interviewed by the TV news promoting the appeal. Read more here.

Canada: Ontario proposes law to ban illegal guns in cars
In response to recent drive-by shootings in Canada, the Ontario provincial government is proposing to amend the province's Highway Traffic Act to allow police to impound any car with an illegal gun inside. This includes guns that have not been registered. Read more here.

Other news

• A seminar on armed violence and development will bring together government officials, UN agencies and civil society in Antigua, Guatemala from 27-30 June. The seminar is organised by the UN Latinamerican Regional Center for Peace, Disarmament and Development (UNLiREC).
• The latest bulletin from the Kenyan Action Network on Small Arms (KANSA) provides an overview of the network's activities in 2007, and profiles the work of network members.
• UNDP is seeking to recruit a project coordinator for the development of International Small Arms Control Standards in the framework of the UN Coordinating Action on Small Arms (CASA).More info on jobs board.
  

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

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