The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) recently hosted a virtual event entitled ‘Gender-responsive Small Arms Control: Lessons from National Implementation.’  The event included presentations by government representatives from Argentina, Caribbean countries, Nepal and Sierra Leone. It coincided with the publication by UNODA of a “Training Manual on Gender-Mainstreaming Small Arms Control.”

“Small arms and light weapons, and their illicit trade and misuse, continue to impede sustainable peace and development” said Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN’s High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, in her Foreword to the Training Manual.  “When dealing with small arms and light weapons, incorporating a gender-responsive approach to policies and programmes is required for effective and sustainable interventions.”

The stated aim of the manual is to guide the integration of gender dimensions into national small arms projects, programmes, and policies. It also aims to train stakeholders about ensuring gender dimensions form an integral part of the analysis, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of small arms control actions at global, regional and national levels.

SecurityWomen believes controlling the distribution and misuse of small arms is important for advancing the Women Peace & Security Agenda, and that while the manual is to be welcomed as a tool for raising awareness of the issues, progress will only be achieved by getting women into positions where they can influence decision-making, for example in parliaments and security institutions, and peace negotiations.

The UNODA event can be viewed at: https://front.un-arm.org/videos/gender-response-small-arms-control-lessons-national-implementation-side-event.mp4

And theTraining Manual is available at: TrainingManual On Gender-Mainstreaming Small Arms Control - World | ReliefWeb

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