Every Casualty Counts (ECC) released a comprehensive report outlining states’ legal obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law to accurately record casualties in armed conflicts and human rights violations, aiming to improve recognition, acknowledgement, and support for victims and their families.

Over the years, AOAV has been strengthening its strategy to reduce violence and assist the people affected by armed violence. The programmes team has established several projects in different countries; some focus on demining, others focus on victims’assistance and managing small arms, among others. With an excellent team in the field, hands-on direction from headquarters and on–going involvement of beneficiaries, AOAV has experienced great achievements and results […]

New York in June is, at least according to the late, great Frank Sinatra, a likeable place to be. Perhaps this bucolic view was not shared, however, by those who were in the Big Apple this year to debate the impact of guns around the world. For June saw yet another week of yet more, […]

  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 […]

Last week, during the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional meetings in Geneva, Action On Armed Violence held a side event to present our new publication, “Writing the Rights: Highlighting the International Standards on the Rights of Victims of Armed Violence.” The side event familiarised the audience with the report and jumpstart […]

March 24th is the International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. In 2010, the UN General Assembly proclaimed this day to be commemorated, and so it will be at AOAV. The purpose of the day is to honour the memory of victims of […]

  Yesterday, December 10, was Human Rights Day. Proclaimed in 1950 by the UN General Assembly, it celebrates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Since then, the world has seen great advancement towards the international protection of human rights. But today we must remember that much remains to be done. […]

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, […]

Gustavo Vera is the President of the La Alameda, a non-governmental organisation based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. AOAV: Could you tell us about what La Alameda is and what work you do? Gustavo Vera: La Alameda is an anti-mafia organisation that fights human trafficking, slave labour, child exploitation, pimping and drug trafficking. We define mafia […]

Alexandra Hernandez is a lawyer, specialised in Administrative Law and Peace Counsellor at the Santiago de Cali Municipality. AOAV: Can you please explain your work? Alexandra Hernandez: The ‘Asesoría de Paz’ of the Cali municipality has three basic functions: One is of social nature, through which we manage the DPS (Department for Social Prosperity) against extreme poverty. […]

The international norm of the obligations on States to assist victims is well established.(1) AOAV believes that its application should include universal assistance to all victims of armed violence. This is especially important for those who are harmed by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, because of the massive human cost and long-lasting […]

Many of the casualties of explosive weapons around the world have been caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), such as car bombs, roadside bombs and explosive vests. Of the 34,758 people AOAV recorded as killed and injured by explosive weapons in 2012, 60% of the casualties were caused by IEDs. The vast majority (81%) of these […]