MISSING PIECES - Inter-Parliamentary Union

ANNEX 7
ensure that the concerns and priorities of particular ministries do not
unduly affect the focus or operations of the body.
One particular role of parliamentarians will be to ensure that the reforms
discussed by the National Commission are properly communicated
to Parliament, especially in the case of legislative reforms. It is also important
to involve civil society groups including not only NGOs and academics,
but also health professionals and survivors of armed violence, for example.
Civil society can help connect local problems of community safety and
security to national policy making, and are an important resource in the
development of awareness raising campaigns and initiatives.
Once National Commissions are established they must be resourced
adequately. This involves high level political support as well as adequate
financial and technical resources to ensure that armed violence is tackled
in a comprehensive and integrated manner. Importantly, National Commissions
must be involved in all decision making pertaining to small arms
control, firearm-related violence, or the arms trade.
States should also consider sharing information on the development
and operations of national coordinating bodies and commissions with
other states, relevant international and regional bodies and most importantly,
the general public.
States that have developed formal
national coordination mechanisms
according to 2006 Red Book
Angola, Argentina, Australia, Belgium,
Benin, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana,
Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Cambodia, Canada, Central African
Republic, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Djibouti, DRC,
Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia,
Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea,
Guinea Bissau, Hungary, India, Indonesia,
Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya,
Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia
(FYRoM), Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Marshall
Islands, Mozambique, Namibia,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua,
Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Romania,
Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra
Leone, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan,
Switzerland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda,
Zimbabwe
States that have no formal
mechanism, but evidence of
significant informal coordination
Armenia, Austria, China, El Salvador,
Germany, Ireland, Japan, Mexico,
Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden,
Tajikistan, Thailand, UK, USA
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