Office at the United Nations, New York

UNU-ONY held a Book Launch to discuss issues raised in "Sexed Pistols: The Gendered Impacts of Small Arms and Light Weapons". Every day, small arms and light weapons (SALW) kill and maim, wound and threaten millions of adults and children, whether combatants and civilians in war zones or gangs and communities in degraded "peacetime" environments that are characterized by large-scale violence. The impacts of these weapons can be vastly different for women and men, girls and boys, a careful consideration of gender and age is rare in the formulation of small arms policy, of planning small arms collection or control, or even in small arms research. Contributors to this book draw on experience and research from around the world on the nexus of gender, age, violence and small arms in developing and developed countries. Their findings feed into a number of recommendations for future policy formulation, programme implementation and research designed to further illuminate and counteract the firing of the "sexed pistol".

Attendees at this event benefited from speaker's sharing their experiences and research related to themes in the book. The speakers included: Albrecht Schnabel, a Senior Fellow, Research Division of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces; Betty A. Reardon, the Director, Peace Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University; and Ms. Sam Cook, the PeaceWomen Project Director, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. The lively Question and Answer Session that followed the presentations was moderated by UNU's Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud.

With the Worldwide in New York series, the United Nations University Office at the UN, New York, as part of its mandate, showcases the recent work of UNU Research and Training Centers/Programs (UNU-RTC/Ps) from around the world. In conjunction with other experts from different organizations, UNU researchers share new ideas and highlight new policy avenues in the areas of security, environment and development.

Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Time: 1:15pm to 2:30pm
Venue: Conference Room 7, UN Headquarters, NY, New York

EVENT PICTURES

Background Readings:
Farr, Vanessa A., "Triple Jeopardy: Women, Guns and Violence", in Putting People First:
Human Security Perspectives on Small Arms Availability and Misuse, Geneva:
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, 2003.
- Download PDF

United Nations, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325: Women, Peace and Security, S/RES/1325 (2000), 31 October 2000.
- Website LINK

Speaker Profiles

Albrecht Schnabel is a Senior Fellow in the Research Division of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). He previously held teaching and research appointments at the Swiss Peace Foundation (swisspeace), the University of Bern, United Nations University, Aoyama Gakuin University, Central European University and the American University in Bulgaria. He was educated at the University of Munich, the University of Nevada, and Queen's University, Canada, where he received his PhD in Political Studies in 1995. His research and publications have focused on ethnic conflict, refugees, human security, security sector reform, conflict prevention and management, peacekeeping, and post-conflict peacebuilding. He currently works on the operationalization of human security, on engaging armed nonstate actors in security sector reform, and on the role of security sector reform in peace processes.

Betty A. Reardon is the Founding Director Emeritus of the International Institute on Peace Education. She is recognized world-wide as a leading theorist, and designer of pedagogic materials and processes in peace education. She was the recipient of the special Honourable Mention Award in Paris by UNESCO at the Peace Education Prize Ceremonies in 2001 for her work with the International Institute on Peace Education. She was the initiator and the first Academic Coordinator of the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education. Having taught as visiting professor at a wide range of universities in the U.S. and abroad, she has many years of experience in the international peace education movement and in the international movement for the human rights of women. She has served as a consultant to several UN agencies and education organizations and has published widely in the field of peace and human rights education, and women's issues.

Sam Cook is the Director of the PeaceWomen Project, at the UN office of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom - an international women's peace organization founded in 1915 in the Hague. The PeaceWomen Project monitors and advocates for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 and related resolutions and commitments on women, peace and security. Ms Cook has an LLM from Columbia University Law School and focused her thesis work on exploring how the South African and Sierra Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commissions dealt with sexual and gender-based violence. A lawyer from South Africa, Sam obtained her LLB from the University of Cape Town in and then worked for a law firm in Cape Town. Following this she worked on the academic staff of the University of Cape Town's law faculty in the private law department. A core focus of her work as an academic and activist - has been on violence against women -including work with Rape Crisis, Cape Town and on various other public interest law projects.

Moderator Profile

Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations in New York. He was Senior Academic Officer at the UNU in Tokyo from 1996 to 2003. Before joining UNU, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992-1996). A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee), Associate Professor at the University of Paris, Visiting Professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management. He has also taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). He has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.) and a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law. Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in political science-law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'Etat in philosophy from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Paris. In addition, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in literature and linguistics. Jean-Marc Coicaud is a member of the Advisory Board of Carnegie Council's Global Policy Innovations (New York). He also serves as an adviser for the Fondation pour l'Innovation Politique (Paris).

Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).