The humanitarian disarmament agenda is moving at a faster pace every day. Armed violence around the world continues to cause terrible suffering. Upholding the rights of survivors is an ongoing challenge. New campaigns are launching, enduring issues are being reinvigorated, and longstanding treaties are being put to the test. We’re even calling for a ban on weapons that haven’t been developed yet.

The one thing that remains constant is the nature of campaigners across the globe. We are passionate, dedicated, creative, we refuse to take no for an answer and we’re willing to give it our all.

The demand for our attention to many different issues is increasing while time and resources are running short. There are few opportunities for our community of campaigners to gather and reflect on our collective efforts and how we can amplify and support each others’ work while maintaining a strong focus on our own campaigns.

Please join us in New York on Saturday 19 October and Sunday 20 October at the Humanitarian Disarmament Campaigns Forum to join the discussion and help find answers.

More details on the forum are set out below – please register ASAP!

—

On Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October 2013, IKV Pax Christi and Article 36 will host the Humanitarian Disarmament Campaigns Forum in New York City. The Forum is being organised as a follow-up to last year’s Summit organised by Human Rights Watch, also held in New York during October to coincide with the United Nations’ First Committee on Disarmament and International Security.

The Humanitarian Disarmament Campaigns Forum will bring together NGO representatives to learn from each other and brainstorm about actions that civil society may take to strengthen existing campaigns and initiatives.  It will mainly be conducted through learning and action workshops comprised of facilitated small group discussions.

The aims of the conference are: 1) for humanitarian disarmament campaigners to come together to discuss ways to strengthen campaigning strategies and skills, and 2) to identify how different campaigns can amplify and support each other’s work without losing focus on their own campaign.

Participants should be affiliated with an NGO working on a humanitarian disarmament issue. Participation is limited. All participants must register via the online registration form.

To register for the conference, please complete the online registration form no later than Friday, 27 September 2013.

For questions about registration, please contact Allison Boehm at allison@article36.org.

For questions about the Forum, please contact Alex Hiniker at hiniker@ikvpaxchristi.nl