Working group for Peace and Human Security
Armed violence takes 2000 lives every day. It destroys livelihoods and breeds fear and terror. To get the guns off the streets, one needs to limit the demand but also the supply of guns. Irresponsible arms transfers fuel conflict, poverty and abuses. Further, excessive, unaccountable and inappropriate military spending can divert funds from social spending such as education and health care.
The main objectives of ForUM's Working Group for Peace and Human Security are:
• a strong Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in 2012 that is effective, comprehensive, global, legally binding, that builds on international law and closes loopholes. Those affected must be heard.
• a responsible Norwegian arms export. State-owned ams arms and ammunitions manufacturers like Nammo must follow strict Norwegian regulations regardless of where their factories are.
• military spending must be reduced to an appropriate level. The neglected UN Charter article 26, saying the Security Council shall present a plan for reducing "diversion for armaments of the world's human and economic resources", must be implemented.
• civil contributions to peacekeeping and peacebuilding must be strengthened
• peacebuilding through sustainable management - and fair distribution - of natural resources, including water and land.
Arms Trade Treaty talks move to secrecy
Friday 16 July 2010
July 15th, 2010: Last minute decision by Chair ‘deeply disappointing’ –Civil society fears future treaty will be weakened Read more »
UN starts talks on global arms trade treaty
Wednesday 14 July 2010
The United Nations began negotiations on a legally binding treaty aimed at regulating the global arms trade to help prevent the illegal transfer of guns that kill and injure thousands of people every day. Read more »
States must agree an Arms Trade Treaty
Tuesday 13 July 2010
States must use every available minute to draw up a new international arms treaty that could save thousands of lives every year, NGOs from around the world said today as negotiators from 192 governments begin formal talks at the United Nations on Monday. Read more »
Report end-user control: Norway - a war profiteer?
Thursday 03 June 2010
Norway earns hundreds of millions of US Dollars each year through the sale of weapons and ammunition. The government is unable, however, to guarantee that these arms will not be used in warfare or in the violation of human rights, both of which contravene the basis of Norwegian export regulations. There are plans to tighten the controls applied to weapon export by introducing what is referred to as end-user certification for NATO-allies as well as other recipients. This report presents how this process should be undertaken. Read more »
Oslo conference on armed violence cancelled, new meeting in Geneva 12 May
Monday 19 April 2010
A new meeting in Geneva on May the 12th will replace the Oslo Conference on Armed Violence, scheduled to take place this week, was cancelled after the vulcanic eruption blocked air traffic. Read more »
UN: Armed violence undermines development
Friday 11 December 2009
In a recent report, the UN Secretary-General recognizes that armed violence undermines development and constitutes an impediment to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Read more »
World's Biggest Arms Traders Promise Global Arms Treaty
Friday 13 November 2009
After years of discussions and debates, the vast majority of governments – 153 in total - at the UN on 30 October agreed a timetable to establish a “strong and robust” Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) with the “highest common standards” to control international transfers of conventional arms. There is currently no global Treaty on the conventional arms trade Read more »
Arms Trade Treaty - we need it now
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Campaigners from around the world are calling on states to commit to the start of formal negotiations of an Arms Trade Treaty next year, with a deadline in 2012. We need an effective treaty urgently. Read more »
Yes we can regulere våpenhandelen
Friday 09 October 2009
Kan vi skape varig fred og løse noen av vår tids største utfordringer? Ja, det kan vi faktisk. Men neppe så lenge våpenhandelen er ute av kontroll. Derfor må Obama slutte å være en brems. Read more »
Contact:
Borghild Tønnessen-Krokan, Advisor
Email: borghild@forumfor.no
Phone: (+47) 92091689
Norwegian organizations: Amnesty, Atlas Alliance, Changemaker, Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian Missions in Development, Norwegian Peace Association, Norwegian People's Aid, Save the Children, United Nations Association of Norway, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
Associated: No to Nuclear Weapons
International NGO cooperation:
Control arms campaign (www.controlarms.org; www.conflictvoice.org), led by Amnesty International, Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA, where ForUM is member). The following organisations are in its ATT NGO Steering Committee (where ForUM is an observer): Africa Peace Forum (Kenya), Albert Schweitzer Institute, Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress (Costa Rica), Asociacion para Políticas Públicas (Argentina), Caritas, Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quaker lobby), Instituto Sou da Paz (Brazil), Nonviolence International (Sørøst-Asia), Project Ploughshares, Saferworld, SweFOR, Viva Rio (Brazil), Women’s Institute for Alternative Development (Trinidad).
International Peace Bureau, Geneva (www.ipb.org) and its Disarmament for Development Campaign
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (www.wilpf.ch)
History:
The working group was re-established after ForUM coordinated the civil society markings of the 10th Anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty in Oslo in 2007, in cooperation with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Nobel Women's Initiative, the Red Cross, the Norwegian People's Aid, the Atlas alliance and others.
ForUM Contact
Contact information:
ForUM
Storgata 11
0155 Oslo
Telephone: (+ 47) 23 01 03 00
Fax: (+ 47) 23 01 03 03
E-mail: forumfor@forumfor.no
