IANSA Update 26 March 2009

US-Mexico: US gun laws fuel Mexican gun violence
Ghana: Northern buyback initiative does not address supply and demand
Sudan: armed violence threatening aid work in Darfur
MENA: regional conference on ATT
Burundi: new SALW awareness campaign
Other news: Southeastern Europe conference on safe children and communities; IANSA in the media; PaxChristi statement on NATO 60th anniversary; Fellowships for African women at King's College, London

US-Mexico: US gun laws fuel Mexican gun violence
The US must tackle its weak gun laws in order to prevent illegal firearm trafficking across the border with Mexico, said IANSA members in both countries this week. The US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton pledged that 360 immigration, customs and anti-drug agents and "gun law enforcement officers" will be sent to the US-Mexican border to help counter trafficking. But Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke said: "This problem can not be solved just by spending more money. We need to address the fact that weak, nearly nonexistent, American gun laws make it too easy for Mexican gun traffickers and other dangerous people to get American guns. It makes little sense to allow traffickers to buy truckloads of assault weapons in Texas and Arizona, and then spend hundreds of millions of dollars to try to find these guns before they cross the border." Read more here.

Ghana: Northern buyback initiative does not address supply and demand
A gun buyback scheme in northern Ghana does not adequately address the causes of demand and supply of small arms in the region, according to IANSA member Emmanuel Sowatey. The buyback, which was organised by the Northern Regional Security Council, does not take into account the market value of the weapons it aims to remove from the civilian population. "An AK-47 costs about 1,000 Ghanaian cedis, whereas the buyback scheme only offers GH¢300," explains Emmanuel. "Meanwhile a locally manufactured gun only costs around GH¢100. So a single craft gun could be handed in for the same amount of money it costs to purchase three further firearms." Read more here.

Sudan: armed violence threatening aid work in Darfur
Armed violence is severely hampering the work of aid agencies working in Darfur, Sudan. A Sudanese relief worker with the Canadian Fellowship of African Relief (FAR) was the latest aid worker to be shot dead in the region this week. Tensions have risen in Darfur since an arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court on 4 March for Sudan's President Omar-al Bashir. President Bashir ordered 13 foreign aid agencies out of the region shortly after the indictment. Earlier this month, three staff members of Medecins Sans Frontieres were kidnapped at gunpoint. There has also been an increase in car-jacking and ambushes targeting the joint UN/African Union peacekeeping force. Read more here.

MENA: regional conference on ATT
IANSA members in the MENA region are meeting in Cairo on 31 March - 1 April for a regional conference on the Arms Trade Treaty organised by IANSA and the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights. Representatives from 25 regional NGOs are expected to attend the discussions, which will focus on the ATT and International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights law and sustainable development. Please contact sherif.azer@ifex.org for further information.

Burundi: new SALW awareness campaign
Congratulations to Bonne Generation in Burundi, who launched an awareness-raising campaign on small arms in Bujumbura on 21 March. The campaign stresses the importance of voluntary surrender of firearms. The opening concert of local musicians was attended by UN officials, local NGO representatives and members of the disarmament commission. The concert was broadcast on several national and African radio stations. Further activities are planned for 29 March. Read more here.

Other news

• The first regional Southeastern Europe Conference on Safe Communities will be held on 22 - 25 June 2009 in Novi Sad, Serbia. Registration closes on 31 March and abstracts for papers must be submitted by 15 April.
• IANSA members have conducted media interviews this week on German handgun laws (Sueddeutsche Zeitung); the UK Ministry of Defence marketing toy soldiers and guns to children (BBC News) and the Ghanaian gun buyback (Joy Online)
• PaxChristi International has issued a statement in the 60th anniversary year of the founding of NATO. The statement calls for an overall change of NATO's strategy in Afghanistan and for the alliance to fully and unambiguously call for comprehensive nuclear disarmament.
• King College London is seeking applicants for Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women in Nairobi and London.

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