our international work
our international work
Programme Overview
Release Peace holds dialogues at high international levels: with representatives from foreign ministries, the UN system, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), fellow NGOs, and other institutions. These conversations concern an initiative of ours to prevent small arms & light weapons from falling into the hands of non-state actors.
International Advocacy
We share the observation of the international community that non-state actors present some of the greatest challenges to development and stability in many world regions. This holds especially true in regions like Africa & the Middle East. Often times, those non-state actors access weapons seized from government stockpiles or looted. We are currently advocating for a new, innovative mechanism that gives UN member states access to destroying small arms before they can fall into the wrong hands. If you are interested in how we do this and what our proposal entails exactly, please do not hesitate to reach out below:
How we work
To achieve meaningful improvements in global security and deprive non-state actors of weapons, we need to have comprehensive, and especially high-level, dialogues. At the core of these dialogues is our proposal to destroy arms & ammunition stockpiles before diversion risks become imminent. We therefore speak with with arms exporting and arms importing countries on this subject since both groups have legitimate interests and concerns. We are also in conversations with the relevant UN agencies in New York and Geneva.
If you find our work important, please support us with a small, monthly contribution.
Sources of more information
To provide you with background information from the UN, the Arms Trade Treaty and academic sources,, we have assembled a few links for you below. Some of Release Peace’s work is explicitly based on the UN Programme of Action referenced below. We furthermore integrate UN Security Council Resolution 1325 into our work.
UN Programme of Action (PoA)
Below you can find the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (commonly called PoA)
SIPRI
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) regularly publishes cutting-edge research on arms proliferation. Below an excerpt on small arms transfers.
Women, Peace and Security
Over 20 years ago, the UN Security Council passed UNSCR 1325. To this day, it is the landmark Security Council resolution on the subject of Women, Peace and Security.
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
Signed by almost 150 countries, the ATT is a comprehensive treaty to reduce and prevent the illicit small arms and light weapons proliferation. Please find a website link below.