New research on small arms and displacement

Study of Security, Safety and Small Arms on Humanitarian Personnel and Civilians

Beginning in 2001, a five-year prospective study of humanitarian deaths will be coordinated by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the Small Arms Survey, together with the Johns Hopkins University Center for Refugees and Disaster Studies and the World Health Organization (WHO). It will review rates, profiles, and costs associated with death and injury among humanitarian workers, as well as the risks and behavioural responses of field staff. Exploring the situation of the Balkans and South-East Asia in detail, it will appraise perceptions of the impacts of small arms misuse on civilians - including displacement. Eight INGOs - including Care, World Vision, Médècin du Monde, Save the Children-UK, MSF-Spain, Concern, Oxfam-GB, and ActionAid, as well as the UNDP and UNHCR, will be participating in the first phase.

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Participatory Research on Human Security and Small Arms in South Asia and South East Asia

This long-term research project began in 2001, and involves eight comparative participatory action research studies in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia (Aceh), and Cambodia. The studies focus on the broad range of human impacts associated with small arms - including the issue of forced internal and cross-border displacement (in Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, particularly).

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Descriptive Epidemiology Surveillance and Research on the Causes and Effects of Small Arms-Related Violence: A Multi-Country Study

The year 2002 marked the first year of an international study on the impacts of small arms on health. The Small Arms Survey and the World Health Organization's Violence and Injury Prevention Project are collaborating on this three-year initiative. During this initial phase, the project will

  1. consolidate institutional partnerships to conduct country-level surveys;
  2. define the survey methodology;
  3. elaborate two comparative national injury surveys in Brazil and Mozambique;
  4. carry out evaluations of violence reduction initiatives and the impacts of armed violence on vulnerable groups such as displaced people;
  5. disseminate findings via reports, seminars, and professional networks; and
  6. build capacity with colleagues in surveyed countries in order to strengthen their ability to conduct public health research.

In the second phase (not covered as part of this proposal), the findings and methodology of the first year will used towards administering analogous national surveys in countries such as Cambodia, El Salvador, Kosovo, and South Africa.

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