Small Arms Survey 2007:
Guns and the City
The Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City offers new and updated information on small arms production, stockpiles, transfers, and measures, including a special focus on transfer controls. This year’s thematic section explores the complex issue of urban violence with case studies on Burundi and Brazil as well as a photo essay by award-winning combat photographer Lucian Read. This edition also features chapters on lessons learned from the tracing of ammunition, the relationship between gun prices and conflict, and the role of small arms in South Sudan.
The book was launched in Geneva on 28 August, during the Informal Meeting on
Transfer Control Principles for
Small Arms and Light Weapons.
Selected chapters and summaries in Arabic, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish are available for download on the Small Arms Survey Web site.
Small Arms in Burundi: Disarming the Civilian Population in Peacetime Les armes légères au Burundi: après la paix, le défi du désarmement civil by Stéphanie Pézard and Nicolas Florquin, August 2007
This report is based on an exhaustive study of the problems associated
with small arms and light weapons in Burundi. With the support of the UN Development Programme in Burundi and Oxfam NOVIB in The Hague, the study was carried out by the Small Arms Survey and the Bujumbura-based Ligue Iteka using a
number of different methodological tools, including a survey of 3,000
households in six provinces. Among other findings, the study reveals that nearly 100,000 Burundian households possess small arms and/or light weapons and that the proliferation of arms among the civilian population is most marked in
the capital.
Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) publications
The Small Arms Survey’s Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) is a multi-disciplinary research project designed to expand understanding and awareness on safety and security throughout Sudan. The project’s Sudan Issue Briefs and Working Papers present findings of the HSBA Team's field research. They are also available in Arabic. The most recent HSBA publications are:
Arms, oil, and Darfur: the evolution of relations between China and Sudan
Sudan Issue Brief Number 7, July 2007
This Issue Brief, the seventh in the series, examines the nature of the
relationship between the two countries, with particular emphasis on the
oil industry and arms sales, as well as on commercial, political and
military ties. It reviews Khartoum's increasing economic dependence on
China within the context of the Darfur conflict, international efforts
to bring peace and security to the region and mounting criticism of
Beijing due to its protection of Khartoum at the UN Security Council.
The Brief assesses the leverage that Beijing exerts over Khartoum and
the extent to which recent changes in Sino-Sudanese relations might
bolster efforts to bring peace to Darfur.
Divided They Fall: The Fragmentation of Darfur’s Rebel Groups
by Victor Tanner and Jérôme Tubiana
Sudan Working Paper Number 6, July 2007
The Darfur Working Paper provides an account of the origins and development of Darfur’s rebel groups, focusing on their proliferation and fragmentation in the lead up to and aftermath of the May 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement. The paper reviews the tensions between the various groups, noting that despite some significant military gains against Government of Sudan forces, infighting and a profound lack of cooperation have severely limited their political success. It concludes that in order to obtain a political solution to the conflict, the international community must invest the time and effort to unify the disparate rebel groups. Without that unity, there will be no sustainable peace in the region.
Emerging North–South Tensions and Prospects for a Return to War
by John Young
Sudan Working Paper Number 7, July 2007
This Working Paper reviews North–South relations two-and-half years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, focusing on the security sector. Its central thesis is that the agreement is facing a crisis stemming from the lack of trust between the parties and the upcoming and contentious border demarcation, census, elections and referendum on secession for the South, which will determine control of key resources. It reviews the build-up of troops along the shared border, suggesting that both sides may be preparing for a return to war and that economic considerations, in particular access to oil, are central to this.
The Lord’s Resistance Army in Sudan: A History and Overview
by Mareike Schomerus
Sudan Working Paper Number 8, September 2007
This report examines the military history
of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in South Sudan, the current prospects
for ending the LRA's conflict with the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF),
and the main challenges facing the peace talks in Juba. Based on one-on-one
interviews with many of the key figures, including LRA Chairman Joseph Kony
and LRA Second-in-Command Vincent Otti, as well high-ranking UPDF informants
and community members affected by the conflict, this Working Paper provides
a valuable resource for understanding a complex conflict and its local and
regional impacts.
Forthcoming publications
In the coming months, the Small Arms Survey will be releasing new reports that explore small arms and light weapons issues in Mozambique, Nigeria, and Uganda.
Quoted and cited
Selected recent press coverage
Small Arms Survey staff members, research, and publications were quoted in the following recent news stories:
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