Subject: [fem-women2000 682] Women's GlobalNet #174. Pt.1: Women, Peace and Disarmament
From: iwtc <iwtc@iwtc.org>
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 20:41:05 +0000
Seq: 682
IWTC WOMEN'S GLOBALNET #174. Part 1 Initiatives and Activities of Women Worldwide By Anne S. Walker, Kirsten Isgro and Felicity Hill August 1 2001 WOMEN, PEACE, ARMED CONFLICT AND DISARMAMENT 1. The UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, New York, 9-20 July, 2001. Diplomats from more than 140 nations gathered in July 2001 to address critical humanitarian, development, and human rights issues involved in the practice of small arms trafficking. Anti-gun/peace activists, weapon makers, and a contingent of determined women were also in attendance. After a bumpy start that included a presentation by the US representative who clearly stated the "US constitutional right of all individuals to keep and bear arms", the two-week conference went on to finally adopt a programme of action that amongst other things: a) calls upon the UN to support the development of national systems to regulate the activities of arms brokers; b) ensures that manufacturers mark all small arms so that their movements can be traced. For more information about this UN Conference and issues surrounding small arms, visit the following web-sites: UN Department for Disarmament Affairs: http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/CAB/smallarms/about.htm United Nations Publications on Small Arms: http://www.un.org/Pubs/whatsnew/smallarms International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA): http://www.iansa.org Disarmament Times Daily, a publication of the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Inc.: http://www.igc.org/disarm. Global Policy Forum: http://www.globalpolicy.org/visitctr/lst-srv/2001/ls0709.htm. KEY FACTS CONCERNING SMALL ARMS: 謬here are over 500 million small arms and light weapons in the world, 40% of which are illegal. More are being produced each day. 彦rom 500,000 - 700,000 lives each year are claimed by small arms and light weapons. This represents more than the number who died in and as a result of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 謬housands of children are being forced to kill and are being killed in wars serving the greed of the powerful. 謬here are no global laws to control the flow of weapons to drug dealers, terrorists and areas of conflict. KEY WOMEN担 ISSUES: 0% of casualties caused by small arms are women and children. More civilian women are killed than soldiers in situations of armed conflict. 標omen are subjected to rape, sexual abuse, economic and physical violence at the hands of men wielding guns. Women refugees are particularly vulnerable. 膝irls and young women by the tens of thousands are being kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by gun-wielding men. 謬he percentage of women shot and killed by their intimate partners in the USA is 80%, in Brazil it痴 46and in Canada it痴 25%. 標omen are key in conflict resolution and peace-building activities. WOMEN担 CAUCUS AT THE CONFERENCE: The IANSA Women痴 Caucus met throughout the conference. The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) called the caucus together with the following objectives: 1) to educate and provide outreach to women's organizations about small arms; 2) to ensure that regional concerns are heard, particularly those from conflict affected regions; and 3) to raise public awareness about the linkage between small arms proliferation and the negative impacts upon women's rights. Friday, 13 July, was Women痴 Day, beginning with a well-attended breakfast and panel discussion that addressed the ways in which the wide availability and use of small arms affects women. In the afternoon, an NGO panel continued the discussion and included readings of women痴 testimonies. Many women wore black for the day in silent protest against violence against women in all regions of the world. Key issues raised by the Women痴 Caucus can be found in the caucus statement presented to the Distinguished Members of the Third Preparatory Committee at the following web-site: http://www.peacewomen.org/campaigns/outreach/international/iansawomen/about/state/sta_index.html. IWTC Women's GlobalNet is a production of: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza 3rd Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 Email: <iwtc@iwtc.org> Web: <http://www.iwtc.org> PLEASE NOTE: For back issues of IWTC Women's GlobalNet, go to our website at <www.iwtc.org> and click on Women's GlobalNet under IWTC Resources. You can subscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to: <iwtc-womensglobalnet-subscribe@igc.topica.com> You can unsubscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to: <iwtc-womensglobalnet-unsubscribe@igc.topica.com> WOMEN, INK. For quality, cutting-edge publications on women and development by, for and about women worldwide, see Women, Ink's 2001 catalogue at : <http://www.womenink.org>. Or contact Women, Ink. at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: Yasna Uberoi (1-212) 687-8633 ext 212 or Mary Wong (1-212) 687-8633 ext 204. Fax: (1-212) 661-2704. 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