Road to RevCon4: A Public Health Crisis—Small Arms Trafficking and Violence in the Caribbean

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 11 June, 2024

Small arms trafficking and violence in the Caribbean have turned into a public health crisis in the Caribbean. The heads of government from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) declared violence and crime a public health issue in April 2023. The proliferation of small arms in the Caribbean fuels homicide rates, which are already among the highest in the world. Public hospitals are receiving more people with gunshot wounds and extending expensive care on the survivors.

Road to RevCon4: The UN PoA and the RevCon process

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 10 June, 2024

Every six years, a Review Conference, RevCon, is held to review progress made in the implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, UN PoA, and the International Tracing Instrument, ITI. 

The next RevCon, RevCon4, will take place from 18–28 June 2024 in New York. The President-designate for RevCon4 is the Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the UN, Ambassador Maritza Chan-Valaverde.

Road to RevCon4: Linking small arms control to national development frameworks—RevCon4 opportunities

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 31 May, 2024

The topic of integrating small arms control into national development processes is of paramount relevance in the context of RevCon 4. There is a correlation between small arms proliferation and Sustainable Development Goals. At national level, linking small arms control to national development frameworks is critical for addressing the complex and interconnected challenges posed by illicit weapons proliferation. 

Selective Approval: Taliban Weapons Controls in Afghanistan’s Balkh Province

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 29 April, 2024

Situation Update: Balkh Province, Afghanistan

Located in the north-east of Afghanistan and sharing borders with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Balkh province hosts ethnically diverse populations, and power in the province has historically rested with non-Pashtun communities, particularly Tajiks and Uzbeks.

SANA Report launch - Persistent Perils: The Illicit Proliferation of MANPADS in the Middle East and North Africa

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 26 April, 2024

The Small Arms Survey held an online event on Friday, 26 April 2024, organized by its Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project, and marking the launch of its publication, Persistent Perils: The Illicit Proliferation of MANPADS in the Middle East and North Africa.

Port Sudan: The Political Economy of a Potential Administrative Capital

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 8 April, 2024

Situation Update: Port Sudan, Sudan

Although no official directive was made to relocate the capital to Port Sudan at the outbreak of war in April 2023, some government departments, diplomatic agencies, and international organizations have since set up shop in the eastern capital. This movement, however, seemingly ignores the fact that the city of Port Sudan does not possess the service competence, civil structure, or geopolitical stability to embrace a new capital for the fragile Sudanese state.

A Political Economy of Tripoli’s Abu Salim: The Rise of the Stability Support Apparatus as Hegemon

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 27 March, 2024

Once a hotbed of pro-Qaddafi resistance, Abu Salim is now a stronghold dominated by Abdelghani al-Kikli (widely known as ‘Ghaniwa’) and his Stability Support Apparatus (SSA). Ghaniwa has consolidated power over Abu Salim—the main southern gateway into the Libyan capital of Tripoli—through violence.

Nuba Hopes and Fears: Fuelling SPLA-North Mobilization in South Kordofan

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 25 March, 2024

Situation Update: South Kordofan, Sudan

South Kordofan state is characterized by significant ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity with Nuban groups and Arab tribes. The ethnicization of the prolonged war in Sudan, however, has reopened divisions between groups and weakened traditional mechanisms for peace and conflict resolution, tearing the fragile social fabric that will not be easily repaired.
 

A Political Economy of Zawiya: Armed Groups and Society in a Western Libyan City

Submitted by Lionel Kosirnik on 8 March, 2024

Since 2015, the coastal city of Zawiya has witnessed endemic violence, but never an all-out war between its main forces. Due to this, the city has become emblematic of Libya’s power struggles. Despite its significance, however, no in-depth studies exist on its armed groups and their evolution.
 

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