More UN anti stuff: an Int'l anti gun newsletter

DC

Moderator Emeritus
World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Mailing List
________________________________________


Here is the latest newsletter from IANSA (Intenational Action Network on
Small Arms) the international anti-firearm NGO. For those of you who have
been following this much will be familiar. IANSA is very active and their
support is growing. WFSA must work even harder to make sure the voices of
hunters and shooters are also heard in this debate.


______________________________________________________________________
Inaugural Edition: Amended
November 10, 1999


by Dan Budihardjo
IANSA Webmaster


Contents:


I. News from IANSA


II. News from Participants


III. Other activities


IV. Documents available from the IANSA Website


V. Web Corner

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I. NEWS FROM IANSA


Announcements


Welcome! This is our first newsletter sent to participants by the IANSA
Staff. First of all, we apologize for the length of the premier issue of the
IANSA newsletter. We want to update you on the events and activities that
have been happening since our inaugural launch at the Hague Appeal for Peace
in May of this year.


As you can see, our website has gone through significant reorganization and
redesign since the launch of IANSA in May. Please refer to the Web Corner
section of this newsletter, where we will show you the latest exciting
features of the IANSA website.


Don't forget! November 14 - 16, 1999 is the Facilitation Committee Meeting in
Durban, South Africa, where the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is
being held.


A public destruction of weapons is being planned for 11 November by IANSA
participants in cooperation with the South African government. Please contact
Geraldine O'Callaghan at BASIC or Adele Kirsten at Gun Free South Africa for
more information.


You can also email the webmaster and we'll make sure that the question will
be routed to the appropriate people.


Get your copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0
Many of the documents posted on the IANSA website is in the Adobe Acrobat
format (or .pdf). Already a standard electronic distribution format for the
UN, Adobe Acrobat is the preferred method of document distribution for most
government and NGOs. You can download the reader at: http://www.adobe.com


...and on with the news:


1. IANSA Launch at Hague Appeal for Peace: 11 May 1999 - 15 May 1999
IANSA was formally launched on 11 May 1999 at the Hague Appeal for Peace. A
bonfire of small arms was lit in the main square of The Hague by Ambassador
Bethuel Kiplagat from Kenya, one of IANSA's founders. The bonfire was
followed by a press conference where Ambassador Kiplagat, along with José
Ramos Horta, the East Timorese Nobel Prize winner, Dr Michael North, from the
Gun Control Network in Scotland and Eugenia Piza-Lopez, representing IANSA,
spoke about the need for civil society to grasp the issue of small arms
control.


Throughout the 11th - 15th May week, IANSA participants held a series of
workshops on various issues relating to controlling proliferation and misuse
of small arms.


A special report on the launch of IANSA can be found at: http://www.iansa.org/mission/newspub/launch/hap.htm


2. The Temporary Coordinator for IANSA Secretariat Position has been filled
Sally Joss, former Head of the Cut Conflict Campaign at Oxfam, has been
appointed temporary Coordinator of the IANSA Secretariat and will be in
position by the end of this year. The IANSA Secretariat will be based in
London at the offices of Christian Aid. Look for an email from Sally soon!

3. IANSA press briefing in advance of the United Nations Security Council's
debate on small arms
On September 23, 1999, Loretta Bondi from Human Rights Watch delivered a
statement at a press briefing organized the day before the UN Security
Council met to discuss small arms proliferation. Ms. Bondi introduced and
announced the formation of IANSA and how about 200 NGOs, from the North and
the South of the world, were working together for the purpose of establishing
a global campaign in curbing the proliferation and misuse of small arms. The
briefing was chaired by Eugenia Piza-Lopez from International Alert. The full
statement, along with several other remarks and reports, can be accessed at: http://www.iansa.org/news/1999/sept_99/loretta_hrw_statement.htm


4. IANSA Profiled by ABC News!
On October 7, 1999, ABC News profiled IANSA as the premier movement in
curbing the proliferation and misuse of small arms. As part of its millennium
series, the article examines the grim trend of a world awash with small arms.
Loretta Bondi was interviewed for this article.
This article can be accessed at: http://www.iansa.org/news/1999/oct_99/d_ruppe.htm
Or directly at ABC News: http://www.abcnews.go.com/ABC2000/DailyNews/weapons_991007.html


[back to top]


II. NEWS FROM PARTICIPANTS


1. Viva Rio Closed its Signature Campaign -- over 1.4 million signatures
collected!
Viva Rio recently closed its signature campaign, which seeks to prohibit the
sale of guns in Brazil with 1,4 million signatures. The signatures were
collected in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro between May 11th and
Oct 16th. The number of signatures collected represents 17% of the population
above 12 years of age. Viva Rio also launched a virtual signature collection
campaign via the Internet, which brought in about 14,000 signatures, in
solidarity, from other cities and countries. The 1,4 million signatures will
be brought to the President of the Republic, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, with
the plea for stricter domestic gun control policy.


2. Tools for Arms Project Update
The Tools for Arms Project, which is an initiative of the Christian Council
of Mozambique (CCM) Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Unit, has released new
figures on their weapons collections effort. The report together with a
collection of artworks based on destroyed guns is available at the IANSA's
website at: http://www.iansa.org/documents/research/TAE/index.htm


3. New French Campaign: "SMALL ARMS: IT'S TIME FOR US TO CALL THE SHOTS!"
A small arms campaign, jointly managed by Agir Ici pour un Monde Solidaire
and the French Section of Amnesty International, was launched in September.
The campaign is asking the French Government to take steps to prevent the
proliferation and misuse of small arms.


4. New Spanish Campaign: "FAREWELL TO ARMS: CAMPAIGN TO CONTROL SMALL ARMS"
This campaign, launched in Spain in February 1999, aims to improve
regulations and promote full transparency and prior parliamentary scrutiny of
arms exports in Spain. It also seeks to identify buy-back schemes and other
weapons collection projects, which could be supported by the Spanish
government and development agencies. The campaign is led by Amnesty
International - Spanish Section, Greenpeace, Intermón and Médecins Sans
Frontières, and is coordinated by Vicenç Fisas.


5. Belgian NGOs join in small arms campaign
A small arms campaign was launched in Belgium on 27 October. The campaign
will focus on introducing stricter normative controls and participation in
regional and international initiatives to tackle the proliferation of small
arms (the coalition has a steering committee which comprises of Amnesty
International Francophone Belgian Section, Justice et Paix, the Belgian Red
Cross and GRIP)


[back to top]


III. OTHER ACTIVITIES


1. UN Welcomes IANSA during Child Rights Exhibit - July 20, 1999
In the UN Press Release which opened the Child Rights Exhibit in New York,
the UN welcomed the formation of the IANSA, stating: "The UN fully supports
the establishment of international and regional codes of conduct to regulate
the legal and illicit trade in light and heavy weapons and welcomes the
recently-launched international NGO campaign against small arms" More
information can be found at: http://www.iansa.org/news/1999/july_99/un_welcome.htm


2. UNDP Weapons Exchange Program in Gramsh, Albania, Update
The Pilot Programme of "Weapons in Exchange for Development was conceived by
the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs (UNDDA) following a mission to
Albania in June 1998. They agreed to develop an innovative approach based on
advocacy and provision of development incentives to people at the community
level to encourage them to voluntarily return the arms in their possession.
Here is an update of some to the activities undertaken to date:

The weapons collection process began 26th January 1999 and some 2600 weapons
and 60 tons of ammunition have been surrendered even after two months
suspension of weapons collection due to the Kosovo Refugees influx in the
country.
A national network of Albanian NGOs has been established to campaign on the
need for voluntary surrender of weapons and ammunition;
A major concert was held in Gramsh town, to encourage weapons surrender and
another one will take place very soon.
For more information on the Gramsh Programme visit the IANSA website at: http://www.iansa.org/documents/un/gramsh/index.htm


3. First Annual Review of EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports
On 21 September EU Member States met to carry out the first Annual Review of
the Code of Conduct on Arms Exports which was adopted in June 1998. In a
positive move, officials agreed at the meeting to publish the Consolidated
Report, which was to emerge from the review process, and on 11 October the
Council of Ministers approved its publication.


Reaction to the report amongst NGOs was mixed. Whilst welcoming the decision
to publish the Consolidated Report, it was felt that the report in fact
contains insufficient information to allow assessment of how the Code has
worked in practice.


The full Consolidated Report can be found by clicking here.


You can also download the report at the IANSA site by visiting: http://www.iansa.org/documents/regional/regindex.htm


[back to top]


IV. DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FROM THE IANSA WEBSITE


1. NGO Documents


Lora Lumpe has written an article titled "Gun Control for the World" for the
Christian Science Monitor,
Published on August 30, 1999. The article can be found at: http://www.iansa.org/news/1999/aug_99/lumpe_gun_control.htm


Light Weapons the Question of International Regulations, and the Role of both
Global and Regional Institutions, by Paul Lansu. [Note: Adobe Acrobat Reader
required]. http://www.iansa.org/documents/research/Reindex.htm


One Size Fits All? Prospects for a Global Convention on Illicit Trafficking
by 2000, Susannah Dyer and Geraldine O'Callaghan, BASIC. http://www.iansa.org/documents/research/Reindex.htm


Comprehensive Measures to Reduce Illicit Small Arms Availability, by Peter
Lock. Prepared for Working Group 3: Security, Peace and Stability in Africa
of the 49th Pugwash Conference in Rustenberg, South Africa
[Note: Adobe Acrobat Reader required]. http://www.iansa.org/documents/research/Reindex.htm


A Paper titled "DOMESTIC GUN CONTROL POLICY IN TEN SADC COUNTRIES" by
Katharine McKenzie is now available. Commissioned by Gun Free South Africa. http://www.iansa.org/documents/research/Reindex.htm


A series of documents dealing with Bulgaria and NATO presented by the Human
Rights Watch are now available. http://www.iansa.org/documents/research/Reindex.htm


2. UN Documents


All of the documents below can be found at http://www.iansa.org/documents/un/unindex.htm

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Calls for Global Effort to Limit Trade. UN
Press Wire.
Security Council Meets at Ministerial Level to Consider Issue of Small Arms
[in .pdf format]
Security Council Presidential Statement on Small Arms (S/PRST/1999/28)
[in .pdf format]
Press Conference By Foreign Minister of Netherlands [in .pdf format]
UN Press Release: Workshop on Arms Register in Africa Opens in Accra (Press
Release AFR/175 DC/2661) [in .pdf format]
Small Arms Destroyed at Public Ceremony in Albania as part of UN 'Weapons for
Development' Pilot Project. Press Release DC/2659/Rev.1- UN-DDA


[back to top]


V. WEB CORNER


New Features
There are two features that we would like to introduce:


1) Participants Profile now on Database


We have migrated all of the available Participants Profile into a database,
which is subsequently tied to our website. Unfortunately, many of the
profiles are in dire need for an update. If you feel that the profile of your
organization is no longer accurate (or if you can't find it), please let us
know! You can email us at webmaster@iansa.org


The advantages of having a database-driven Participants list are twofold:


a) it is easier to maintain and update Participants Profile
b) the list is now searchable


The Participants list is searchable in the following ways:


- by key words
Use "equal to" as the search option if you have the exact spelling/ word
order of the organization;
Use "begins with" as the search option if you know the first word(s) of the
organization;
Use "contains" as the search options if you know any words (if more than one
word, then they must be in sequential order) of the organizations


- by country name


- by region


- by type


2) IANSA Site now searchable by keywords

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
 
Here is a new book on international arms control:

Ashgate Publishing,
in association with UNIDIR (United Nations Institute for Disarmament
Research) presents:


Small Arms Control: Old Weapons, New Issues





Editorial Committee:
Jayantha Dhanapala, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, United
Nations;


Mitsuro Donowaki, Ambassador and Special Assistant to the Minister for
Foreign Affairs of Japan;


Swadesh Rana, Chief, Conventional Arms Branch, Department for Disarmament
Affairs, United Nations;


and Lora Lumpe, Senior Researcher for the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms
Transfers (NISAT)
at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO).


The 29 papers collected in this volume were originally prepared for four
regional workshops organized by the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs to
inform the work of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms. These
workshops were held during 1995-96. Most of the papers were updated in 1998.
Authors include academic, military, governmental and activist experts.


Contents:
Foreword by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan.
Prologue by Mitsuro Donowaki, Chairman of the UN Small Arms Panel.


Part 1 Causal Factors and Policy Considerations:
An overview of the global trade in small arms and light weapons; Light
weapons and human security-a conceptual overview; Problems and linkages in
controlling the proliferation of light weapons; Working toward policies for
controlling light weapons; Causation and the arms trade, with reference to
small arms; Peace operations, disarmament and post-conflct reconstruction;
Areas of major concentration in the use and traffic of small arms.


Part 2 The Problem of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Africa:
Control efforts in the Sahel region; The case of Somalia; Rwanda and Burundi:
a tragic case study of small arms; Zimbabwe's experience with small arms; The
situation in Namibia; A case study of light weapons in Swaziland; Small arms
proliferation and disarmament in Mozambique; Firearms in South Africa; A
sociological perspective on small arms proliferation in South Africa.


Part 3 The Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Latin America and
the Caribbean:
Sources of weapons procurement, diffusion and violence in Central America;
Central America, Haiti and Colombia: problems, initiatives and additional
measures; Demobilisation and integration of former combatants in Guatemala;
El Salvador's consumer goods for firearms programme; Small arms transfers in
the Republic of Panama; Controlling the tools of violence in the Caribbean;
Links between drugs and arms in Colombia; Model regulations for the control
of firearms.


Part 4 The Plague of Small Arms and Light Weaponry in South Asia:
Sources of small arms and light weapons procurement in Southwest Asia; Light
weapons flows to and from Afghanistan; Linkages between arms trafficking and
the drug trade in South Asia; Illicit transfer of conventional weapons: the
role of state and non-state actors in South Asia; National, regional and
global measures for controlling light weapons.


Epilogue:
Recent governmental, trans-governmental and non-governmental efforts to curb
the spread of small arms. Recent UNIDIR publications.


To order your copy/ies please contact Nicky Comber - orders@bookpoint.co.uk
or to obtain a review copy, contact sjohnson@ashgatepub.co.uk




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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
 
Note to U.S. LEOs. Yes, they do mean to disarm all police except tightly controlled national police organizations. You will be sitting ducks for criminals, which is what the gun ban gang wants. They plan to establish a dictatorship over the dead bodies of citizens and police.

Like the Nazis, we can't say they didn't tell us what they plan to do.

Jim
 
This is a bit related to Jim's thoughts:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>

Japanese Propose UN Coast Guard to Fight Piracy, BT Says


Singapore, Nov. 16 <A HREF="aol://4344:30.bloombrg.389091.602536905">(Bloomber
g)</A> -- A United Nations Coast Guard could be set up to combat piracy in
Asian waters, the Shipping Times section of the Business Times said, citing
Japanese shipping industry officials. The suggestion for a multinational
maritime police force under the direction of the U.N. Security Council comes
after the crew members of a hijacked Japanese ship Alondra Rainbow were
rescued last Tuesday in Thailand. The piracy was the first involving Japanese
sailors in recent years, prompting the Japanese self defense forces to take
the unprecedented step of using an aircraft and helicopter to search for the
missing Japanese ship, the paper reported.


Southeast Asia, home to some of the world's busiest shipping routes, saw an
80 percent increase in piracy attacks from January to September.


(Shipping Time section, Business Times, 11/16, 1)


For the Website of Business Times, SPBT <GO>


Nov/15/1999 20:09

[/quote]

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
 
DC, thanks for bringing all of this to our attention.

The naivete of these people is stunning. East Timor, Bosnia and other bloodlettings weren't enough for these folks - they won't be satisfied until civilians everywhere are at the mercy of whoever has a gun. It troubled them not that the UN created 'safe areas' (e.g. Bosnia), and then stood back while civilians were slaughtered.

Neville Chamberlain looks like a real piker compared to these folks.

The RKBA is essentially under attack by both pacifists and statists. Nice combo. No thank you - UN ... go to hell.
 
Now, as to the organization, hierarchy and method of position (job) attainment of the UN:

1) Our President appoints an ambassador/representative to the UN...so I assume it works the same for other countries.
2) How does the UN Sec Gen'l get his job?
3) How do the other mucky-mucks get their jobs?

I do know this:
Many gov'ts and politicians are quite willing and even working for giving the UN more direct power and authority.
I didn't vote and no one asked me who I thought should have these jobs; thus I have no direct or indirect representation. Therefore, I do not recognise nor will I accept any UN authority over anything, esp if it comes within my sphere of influence

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
 
Obviously we are under assault internationally as well as locally. This is a huge deal to the UN types in the world. The 2nd Amendment is the only thing that is protecting us at all. We REALLY need a Supreme Court Ruling to ensure that this protection remains. I wonder if they will ever rule - probably not. I think that not we but the next generation is going to be in for a big war over this. Unfortunately, the propaganda machine is working so well on our young people, that they will not even want the 2nd Amendment.
 
U.S. out of the U.N. and the U.N. out of the U.S. now!

The lack of guns didn't seem to stop those machete wielding Liberians when they had their revolution. Nor did it have any impact on the Rwandans when they had their murderous rampage.

------------------
Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
Well we're missing the point, since neither the Liberians or the Rwandans used many guns their victims are not important! Or so the PC gun banners seem to believe!

When good men (and women) are silent only the evil is heard

------------------
David L. Blackburn
 
Well, actually, my point is that control of firearms is futile and the lack of guns by the Liberians or Rwandans didn't deter them from their blood lust.
 
From the 'Kalashnikov Age', I find this quote particularly interesting:

"On Christmas Eve 1989, Charles Taylor marched into Liberia with a ragtag invasion force of some 150 amateur soldiers-members of the self-styled National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL)-and set out to conquer the country. In the months that followed, Taylor seized control of the Liberian hinterland, exacting tribute from its inhabitants, recruiting additional soldiers, and killing all who stood in his way. As many as 200,000 people died in the cataclysm, and millions more were driven from their homes. Taylor had unleashed the most deadly combat system of the current epoch: the adolescent human male equipped with a Kalashnikov-an AK-47 assault rifle."

Why won't this happen in the U.S.? Well, we certainly have a strong LEO community and a strong military. But, even without them, I can't begin to imagine 150 guys with AK-47's (even 'real', select-fire assault rifles) lasting very long even in Phoenix. Because many individual Phoenicians have good quality firearms, they generally know how to use them, and we have a sufficient number of them. Even if the bad guys killed 10 of us for every 1 of them, I don't think they would last out the weekend.

Think about the plain absurdity of the author's contention. 150 men go on a rampage that eventually kills 200,000. Such tragedies / massacres don't occur in the face of a reasonable defense - they obviously occur in a situation of massively disproportionate forces.

But, the author's solution is to try and take guns away from the 150 bad guys. What a sad sack of illogic ...
 
I know that I should have read all of this article, but I could only get half way. This maze of convoluted thinking and organization of stupidity seems to be the prevailing mode of thought in this world.
There are times when I just want to give up keeping tabs on these groups and just give into the bunker mentality of the "just let them try to take my guns" group, which is not to say, that I won't be there with them when it happens, but the fact is; Guns arn't all they want to ban!
Now that I've had my rant, I'll go and read the rest of it.
Thanks for the article, DC.
 
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