Political speakers included Armed Forces Minister James Heappey and House of Commons Defence Select Committee Chair Tobias Ellwood and Vice Chair John Spellar.

  Behind every weapon there is a person involved who controls it, and in front of the weapon will most likely be a civilian who will be injured or killed by it. Finding solutions to violence from small arms and light weapons is a must, but it is also a duty to respond to the […]

The issue of armed violence is becoming more and more noticed as a major problem in Nigeria.  The recent kidnapping of hundreds of girls has highlighted the deep rooted issues of violence in this West African power. The truth is that Nigeria is, and has been for a long while, one of the African countries […]

On Friday January 10, the Central African Republic’s interim president Michael Djotodia stepped down. Shortly before his resignation, the UN had warned that the violence in CAR could spiral into all-out war, following months of increased tension and violence in the country. It is not immediately clear whether Djotodia’s resignation will calm or exacerbate the […]

Armed violence has damaged the economic and social wellbeing of Nigeria, according to a joint report by AOAV and local groups working against armed violence in Nigeria. A chronic failure to record and monitor the impact of armed violence has also hampered efforts to address this violence head on. The report was written by the National […]

Politics The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is the political capital of Nigeria, located in the country’s North Central region.85 Politics and armed violence are closely intertwined in the territory: spikes in violence have been closely linked to electoral cycles in 1999, 2003 and 2011. In common with other urban areas, FCT witnesses a high rate […]

Geoffrey Duke works for the South Sudan Action Network on Small Arms. He lives in Juba, South Sudan. AOAV: What does the network do? Geoffrey Duke: The network works to reduce gun violence in South Sudan. Gun violence is an enormous problem here, even after the hostilities between the North and the South. Violence has […]

Around the world, 1.5 billion people live in a place affected by conflict or violence, waiting, often for decades, for something more than a temporary respite from death and destruction. A definite end to conflict, however, is difficult to achieve. While negotiated endings, such as ceasefires and peace settlements, are rightly celebrated, the history of recent conflicts, […]

Lizette Lancaster is Project Manager of the Crime and Justice Information and Analysis Hub at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa. AOAV: What does the Institute for Security Studies do?  Lizette Lancaster: The Institute for Security Studies is a research think tank working and operating in Africa. It has got offices in […]

Baffour Amoa is the President of the West African Action Network on Small Arms and Chair of the International Action Network on Small Arms‘ International Advisory Council. AOAV: What is your main job in this role? Baffour Amoa: Primarily to make sure that, in West Africa, we fight against gun violence and the proliferation of small arms and light […]

Abdullahi Mohammed Odowa is a General-Director of the Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention. He has an extensive experience on social research and has conducted several researches including Conflict Analysis in Sool and Sanaag regions of Somalia (for CARE International) and Social Action Research on Drought and Climate Change in Somaliland (for ActionAid International). AOAV: What […]

Maximo Halty, Chief Technical Advisor of the UNDP’s Crisis and Risk Mapping and Analysis (CRMA) in Sudan explains the project’s approach of collaborating with all UN agencies, NGOs and national bodies to identify, geo-reference, digitise and consolidate existing  information relevant for recovery and development activities. AOAV: What is the UNDP Crisis and Risk Mapping and Analysis […]