Human Security and Disarmament Programme

Human security and disarmament are closely linked. As long as there are weapons, they will be used. Military armament poses a threat against humanity not only because it increases the risk of armed conflict. Huge amounts of money, time and resources are put into military armament, while one billion people live on less than two dollars a day. Our work in this area is focused on:

· Improving the control and non-proliferation of small arms and light weapons
· Improving international and regional security policies
· Ecumenical action for peace and disarmament
· Codes of Conducts on arms exports
· Civil-military relations

Small Arms

Much of our work in this programme is centred on the problems of small arms and light weapons, i.e. weapons that can be used by one or two people. Small arms are weapons of mass destruction, killing half a million people around the world each year. That's far higher than the casualty count from conventional weapons of war like tanks, bomber jets or warships.

SweFOR initiated SANSA, the Swedish Action Network on Small Arms, whose aim is to stop the proliferation and use of small arms.

Starting in spring 2004, SweFOR along with the Red Cross and the Swedish National Defence College, will start training military personnel, teachers and policemen on how to decrease the dissemination of light weapons.

The Parliamentary Forum

In November 2000, SweFOR organised a parliamentary exchange between Sweden, Spain and Central America regarding small arms and light weapons. The exchange was a success, and the following year we organised a follow-up conference in Managua, Nicaragua. A third parliamentary exchange took place in May of 2002 in Costa Rica.

In October 2002 the Spanish Parliament called for a meeting where a permanent parliamentary forum was created, to deal with the necessary reforms on small arms legislation, in Latin America as well as Europe.

The Forum consists of members of parliament and representatives from Sweden, Spain and Latin America, who meet once a year to discuss legislation and preventive measures. In May 2003, a meeting was held in Panama. The last meeting of the forum was held on 22-24th of September 2004 in Stockholm and Helsinki. (Follow this link to read more about this last Forum meeting.)

In conjunction to the Costa Rica conference of 2002, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between SweFOR and the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs on the Initiative on Parliamentarian Exchange on Small Arms and Light Weapons.

The Parliamentary Exchange Initiative

The Parliamentary Exchange Initiative (PEI) is a collaborative effort by SweFOR, UN LiREC (the United Nations Regional Center for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean) and the OAS (the Organisation for the American States). The aim is to improve and harmonise small arms legislation.

PEI represents a new tool for disarmament between legislative institutions, where issues like Security Sector Reform as well practical experiences on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DD&R) can be dealt with. A first task to be carried is the elaboration of a white book on Small Arms legislation. 

NGO Capacity Building

The purpose of the NGO Capacity Building project is to train 100 Latin American NGOs on how to help stop the proliferation and use of small arms. SweFOR is one of six organisations that are part of the project, which is coordinated by UN LiREC.

Arms Trade

SweFOR monitors and protests the Swedish export of weapons. In particular, we have protested the export of the Swedish jet fighter JAS 39 Gripen to South Africa. By exporting JAS 39 Gripen to South Africa, Sweden has failed to abide by the European Union´s code of conduct for arms trade which states that human development must be taken into account when exporting weapons.

In May 2004, SweFOR and the Swedish Council of Churches hosted an international conference on the ecumenical work against arms trade. It is the second of a series of conferences that bring together church leaders, experts and representatives from the arms industry to discuss how the religious community can respond to the growing global concern on worldwide trade and proliferation of military equipment. Read more about the Gothenburg Process.