Small Arms and Human Security Bulletin - Issue n°8, by the HD Centre
15 February 2007

The Bulletin seeks to provide accessible news and views on small arms issues from a human security perspective to a wide and diverse audience. Edition 8 is the last issue of this Bulletin.

Boletín - Armas pequeñas y seguridad humana - Número 8, by the HD Centre
15 February 2007
The Bulletin seeks to provide accessible news and views on small arms issues from a human security perspective to a wide and diverse audience.

Bulletin - Armes légères et sécurité humaine - Numéro 8 , by the HD Centre
15 February 2007

The Bulletin seeks to provide accessible news and views on small arms issues from a human security perspective to a wide and diverse audience.

Moving ahead on small arms control, by Sarah Parker
6 December 2006
This analysis focuses on the activities of the 2006 UN First Committee3 as it relates to the
issues of conventional weapons, in particular small arms and light weapons control and its
implications for multilateral processes to address the arms trade and reduce gun violence.

Myanmar: The limits to international mediation, by Larry Jagan
27 November 2006
Since Myanmar's military leaders seized power in a bloody coup more than eighteen years ago, the international community has tried to restore democracy to the country through a combination of dialogue, engagement, goading and sanctions. Asia (largely China, India and ASEAN), the West (Europe and the US) and the UN have all taken key roles in this process of either encouraging or putting pressure on Myanmar to reform. But the main problem has always been the major disagreement between those who favour sanctions and those who believe the only way to encourage change, is to engage the regime rather than isolate them. This paper takes a look at these efforts in order to reflect upon the broader question of possible limits to external engagement. In conclusion, several policy options are put forward.

Peace building in the Pacific Islands: Lessons from Bougainville, Solomon Islands and Fiji, by David Hegarty and Anthony Regan
27 November 2006
This paper examines lessons about efforts to build peace from three very different conflicts - Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Fiji. These three island states share characteristics common to the states of the southwest Pacific region known as Melanesia. They have small populations (PNG 5.5 million, Fiji 850,000, Solomon Islands 400,000), possess remarkable cultural and linguistic diversity, experienced a late imposition of colonial rule, emerged recently from colonialism - Fiji in 1970, PNG in 1975, and Solomon Islands in 1978 - and share weak economies and states inherited from reluctant colonial powers.

Peace with the Moros of the Philippines: An independent assessment, by Benedicto R. Bacani
27 November 2006
Established in 1984, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is a breakaway group of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MILF rejects the peace pact the MNLF signed with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) on September 2, 1996. Specifically, the MILF considers the political autonomy granted to the Moro people under the 1996 GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement as inadequate and unresponsive to the root causes of the conflict. Thus, even as Manila was negotiating with the MNLF, the MILF quietly built up its armed forces and mass base of supporters.

Truths and Untruths: Federalism, autonomy and decentralization, by Katia Papagianni
27 November 2006
Where ethnic, linguistic and/or religious grievance lies at the heart of the conflict, it is certain that a durable peace will require some changes in governance so that it is addressed. Decentralization and autonomy arrangements are important, but they are not a magic bullet and certainly cannot be applied in a onesize- fits-all model. Their appropriateness and consequences will vary enormously according to context. This short paper examines some of the common misunderstandings.

A brief overview of internal conflicts in South and Southeast Asia, by Based on an article by Joseph Chinyong Liow and S.P. Harish
27 November 2006
South and Southeast Asia are populated by people of diverse ethnic cultures and religious beliefs. Most of the countries in the region gained independence soon after the end of the Second World War. Since then, they have enjoyed varying degrees of economic development and have been governed under a broad spectrum of political systems. As they struggle with the demands of modernization and democratization, on the one hand, and pressures to retain traditions and identities, on the other, many of these countries have experienced resistance from armed groups within their borders that have challenged the authority, legitimacy, and territorial integrity of the state.

Faith and Fear: How religion complicates conflict resolution in Southeast Asia , by Michael Vatikiotis
27 November 2006

Focusing on Southern Thailand and Mindanao, this article critically examines the way in which the governments' response is affecting and transforming the role of local religious leaders in these conflicts. The perception of religion, Islam in particular, is complicating mediation efforts and preventing governments from designing feasible conflict resolution policies that seek to accommodate reasonably legitimate aspirations. Michael Vatikiotis traces the culturally and ethnically motivated struggle for independence in the region and illuminates how it is increasingly drawing on religion as a motivational tool.