Although gender-related references in PoA meetings had been gradually increasing since 2001, the 7th Biennial Meeting of States marked a watershed moment in 2021 when it included eight consecutive paragraphs with gender-related language.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
National actors working in small arms control and on women, peace, and security (WPS) share commitments to reduce suffering, maintain peace and security, and contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, while these cross references are increasingly commonplace in the international policy framework, this does not often translate into harmonized references in national action plans (NAPs) on WPS and small arms control.
Mali has faced more than a decade of armed violence perpetrated by extremists, resulting in thousands of victims among national and international armed forces, UN peacekeepers, and civilians.