International Action Network on Small Arms

Putting a Human Face on Small Arms

Modeled after the successful International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its work in the Ottawa Process that produced the 1997 Land Mines Convention, IANSA sought to put a human face on small arms. IANSA's work countered that of the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups. IANSA has been active in monitoring and promoting the implementation of the 2001 UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. The Biting the Bullet Project and IANSA produced an important 2003 report that concluded that implementation had been limited. In fall 2003, with Amnesty International and Oxfam, IANSA launched the Control Arms campaign, calling for a global arms trade treaty. Among controversial issues are whether to limit international regulation only to illicit arms and whether to include brokering of arms transfers. IANSA has been funded by the United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, and foundations.

The IANSA Women's Network and other organizations concerned with violence against women have worked to make clear the gender implications of small arms. Women's NGOs banded together to help the United Nations Security Council in October 2000 pass Resolution 1325, which addresses both the impact of armed conflict on women and their role in peace negotiations. The IANSA Women's Network works to stop gun violence against women; to involve women in peacemaking, peace building, and disarmament; to reduce military spending; to break the link between violence and masculinity; and to prevent gun violence in general. In June 2009, it launched its Disarm Domestic Violence campaign. The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has supported [Page 757]IANSA Women's Network planning sessions and an exhibit on the impact of SALW on women at the Biennial Meeting of States on the Programme of Action.