Defend International participated in the General Assembly Interactive
Hearings with
NGOs which took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York on
14-15
June 2010. President
of D... Read More ...
Nigeria: New International Fact-finding Report on the Situation of HR Defenders
The
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
programme of
the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International
Federation
for Human Rights (FIDH), and F... Read More ...
DI joins 2010 Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence
Defend International has joined IANSA (International Action Network on Small Arms) and other NGOs in 110
countries to
mark the Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence, 10 - 16 May. ... Read More ...
Nuclear Weapons: Historic Opportunity to Ensure They Will Never Be Used Again
States
have an historic opportunity to bring the era of nuclear
weapons to an end once and for all, the International Committee of the
Red
Cross (ICRC) said in Geneva recently.... Read More ...
Syria: Arbitrary Detention of Leading Human Rights Activist
Defend International (DI) has been informed by reliable sources
of the case of Mr. Abdul-Hafiz Abdul Al-Rahman, a leading human rights activist
in Syria.
DI believes that he is a priso... Read More ...
UN/BMS4: DI Highlights the Importance of Culture of Peace
Written by DI Media Committee
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
DI president Widad Akrawi addressing the BMS4
Defend International (DI) addressed the UN Fourth Biennial
Meeting of States, in New York to consider the implementation of the Programme
of Action to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and
light weapons in all its aspects, which was held in June 2010. DI speech roused
a lot of attention among member states and civil society organizations.
DI represents the voices and experiences of civil society in
the MENA region.
2010 Biennial Meeting of States on Illicit
Trade in SALW
DI was accredited by UN to attend the Fourth Biennial Meeting of
States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent,
Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All
Its Aspects (BMS4) which is part of the follow-up process to the 2001
Conference on the same issue. It is worth mentioning that DI has been accredited for previous BMS
meetings.
This year, Mexican
Ambassador Pablo Macedo was the
chairperson-designate for the 2010 BMS. Representatives of accredited organizations were again allowed to address the Conference during one meeting
specifically allocated for this purpose. NGOs and IANSA members from 55
countries were requested to coordinate and decide among themselves which
representatives were to be appointed to address BMS4.
President of Defend International Ms. Widad Akrawi
was one of the nine chosen speakers at this platform, sharing her views on "Culture
of Peace." She used this forum to express her concerns about the proliferation
of illicit trade in SALW which have significantly intensified armed conflicts
and made the proliferation of peace difficult to achieve. "Armed violence and peace
cannot coexist. We need to overcome the challenges
and seek practical solutions. We must replace the culture of war with
the culture of peace," Widad Akrawi said. Her speech was well
received and roused a lot of attention among member states and civil society organizations.
* Consideration of the implementation of the Programme of Action
in all its aspects at the national, regional and global levels, including:
Prevention and combating of illicit trade in small arms and
light weapons across borders;
International cooperation and assistance;
Strengthening of the follow-up mechanism on preventing,
combating and eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons,
and preparations for the 2011 Experts Group meeting and the 2012 Review Conference;
* Other issues, including, inter alia, the promotion of a dialogue
and a culture of peace by encouraging education and public awareness programmes
on the problems of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its
aspects.
* Consideration of the implementation of the International
Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable
Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.
Side
Events:
In addition to the formal hearings and meetings, side events
took take place in the North Lawn Building (NLB).
Below are some side events that DI attended:
"Presentation of the Small Arms Survey Yearbook 2010," organized
by the Permanent Mission of Switzerland.
"SALW Assistance and Aid Effectiveness: Opportunities
and Challenges," organized by UNIDIR.
"Launch of the Global Small Arms and Armed Violence Web
knowledge Base" - Gun.policy.org
"Gender and the PoA: including all voices," hosted by IANSA and
ODA Regional Branch.
During this event, the IANSA
Women's Network - in collaboration with the UN Office For Disarmament Affairs -
published the "Mainstreaming Gender for the Effective Implementation of the UN
PoA." This document (29 pages) is an update of the 2006 CASA Guidelines. As an active
participant of the 4th UN Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms and as an
active member of IANSA, Defend International contributed to this
document. DI provided perspectives, field-based experience and
region-specific inputs which were added to pages 8, 9, 10, 16, 23, 24 and 27.
The
Outcome Document of BMS 2010
On 18 June 2010 the
draft Outcome Document was finalized by UN Member States. The "gender
perspectives" was included in Section III: "Other issues, and the
identification of priority issues or topics of relevance in the illicit trade
in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects and of their implementation
challenges and opportunities."
DI Photo Gallery of the 2010 Fourth Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms
