This international workshop aims to engage small arms experts, researchers and field practioners in sharing knowledge and experience on initiatives to address the impact of small arms proliferation and violence upon sustainable development. Organiser: Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT). NISAT is coalition comprised of Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian Red Cross and the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo
Contact person: Anne Thurin International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) Hausmanns gate 7, NO-0186 Oslo, Norway Phone: +47.22.54.77.59/ Fax: +47.22.54.77.01 anne@prio.no
This international workshop is conceptualised as a follow-up activity to the expert seminar ‘Integrating Development into the UN Programme of Action Process’ jointly organised by the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway and the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers, in Oslo on 22–23 March 2006. The Oslo expert seminar brought together over 70 experts from 23 different countries to elaborate concrete proposals on how to address the negative impacts of small-arms proliferation and violence upon sustainable development within the implementation process of the UN Programme of Action. A list of draft recommendations, previously circulated to participants, was discussed and revised during working group sessions. The final seminar report and recommendations were presented at the Geneva Process on Small Arms (2 May), at an international seminar hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland in Helsinki (8 May), and at the New York Small Arms Forum hosted by the Missions of Colombia and Norway (23 May).Moreover, they were distributed at the UN Review Conference of the Programme of Action (26 June-7 July). (The seminar report and recommendations can be downloaded at www.nisat.org) This international workshop aims to engage small arms experts, researchers and field practioners in sharing knowledge and experience on initiatives to address the impact of small arms proliferation and violence upon sustainable development. It is a unique and timely opportunity to discuss and elaborate innovative policy proposals which could support the work of states, development agencies and organizations committed to adopt an integrated approach in order to redress the impact of small arms violence around the world. The proposed international workshop builds on the recommendations elaborated by the experts gathered in Oslo last March. The organisers intend to further analyse the complex linkages between small arms and development, and more specifically to conceptualise ways to effectively and efficiently integrate measures to prevent and reduce small arms violence into the different components of development cooperation programmes. Small arms are already widely available in many developing regions of the world and armed violence severely undermines human rights, security and development. Participants The international workshop will gather approximately 60 participants (ref attached list of participants). About 25 participants from the COST A25 network will attend the workshop. Under the auspices of COST, an EU framework for ‘European Co-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research’, PRIO is coordinating Action A25 ‘European small arms and the perpetuation of violence’ which aims to develop closer cooperation among European small arms research projects by supporting the exchange of data, research methods and experience. With the support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an equal number of international specialists and practitioners have been invited to participate at the international workshop (please refer to the list of participants attached). By bringing together the experience and expertise of a diverse group of academics, NGOs and international organizations, we hope to generate both greater understanding of the problem and innovative policy proposals. Programme The workshop programme aims to engage small arms experts, policy makers and field practitioners in a common dialogue. The questions they will be examining naturally lend themselves to a series of panels, each addressing methodological, theoretical, and empirical aspects of the problem, as well as implications for further research, policy making, and programming. The panels are structured around the presentation of two papers and substantial time is dedicated to discussion among participants (please refer to attached programme). The draft working papers which will be presented at the workshop can be downloaded from: http://www.prio.no/projects/a25cost/activities.htm
