1. Assessing the Compatibility of SALW Awareness and Mine Risk Education
- Author:
- Bob Keeley
- Publication Date:
- 11-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons
- Abstract:
- The MRE message is comparatively simple when compared to the SALW message. Even in countries that have not signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty1 it is possible to say that all remaining minefields and all items of unexploded ordnance can be considered a hazard, and that anyone finding any mines or UXO should report them. The SALW issue is more complex, as SALW Awareness messages struggle with the problem that not all weapons are illegal and weapon ownership is – in general – not stigmatised. SALW Awareness projects must therefore struggle with the emphasis they place on either (a) attempting to stigmatise gun ownership with the long term aim of reducing the number of weapons in circulation or (b) concentrating on achieving the comparatively short term aim of preventing accidental injuries resulting from poor gun storage and handling. This problem of 'selection and maintenance of the aim' does not occur in MRE.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Europe