Press Release: Network of Arms Experts Strengthens With New Partners
Forum on the Arms Trade Announces Six New Institutional Partners
October 16, 2023
This press release was released by the Forum on the Arms Trade on October 16, 2023
Washington, DC – The Forum on the Arms Trade welcomed six new institutional partners, bolstering a network of more than 150 experts around the world addressing the humanitarian, economic and other implications of arms transfers, security assistance, and weapons use. The new partners, based in Europe, Latin America, and the United States, will be co-leading programs for emerging experts, co-hosting public events at the University of Maryland, collaborating on other community gatherings, and supporting the shared work of the network.
Jeff Abramson, director of the Forum on the Arms Trade, said, “hearing the voices of concerned arms trade experts is critical in this time of so many security challenges, and the dedication of new institutional partners will only serve to strengthen our community.”
Nancy Okail, President and CEO of the the Center for International Policy, which serves as a fiscal sponsor and has been an institutional partner since 2018, said, “we are excited to see the Forum on the Arms Trade expanding its reach and partnerships in ways that enable it to play an even more crucial role in connecting and empowering the network of experts who strive for better peace and security policies.”
New organizational partners include: the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland who will partner to host talks by Forum-listed experts on its campus; PRISME (Pathways to Renewed and Inclusive Security in the Middle East), Security in Context, and Shadow World Investigations who will partner with the Forum on other public and community conversations; as well as Amassuru (Network of Women in Security and Defense in Latin America and the Caribbean) and SEHLAC (Seguridad Humana en Latinoamérica y el Caribe - Human Security in Latin America and the Caribbean) who are co-leading the Forum’s new Spanish-language emerging expert program.
Andrew Feinstein, executive director of Shadow World Investigations, commented, “We are delighted to formalize our long-time association with the invaluable Forum on the Arms Trade to ensure that the economics of conflict – including the unacceptable levels of corruption and other illegality in the arms trade – are, along with the many other crucial dimensions, prominent in the public discourse around militarism, peace and security.”
Omar Dahi, director of Security in Context, said that “we are glad to join a growing network of organizations focusing on human rights, well-being, and the social costs of securitization and militarism.”
Emma Soubrier, director of the PRISME initiative, added, “We are thrilled to collaborate with the Forum on the Arms Trade. Our shared mission is to develop critical analysis of the arms trade, notably in and with the MENA region, that is accessible. By shedding light on this often obscured issue, we hope to help make meaningful strides towards a more secure and harmonious global landscape.”
Katherine Aguirre, the coordinator of Amassuru – a network of women in security and defense in Latin America – stated that “we are very happy to include the gender dimension in several discussions on arms trade, trafficking, and impacts with a focus in our region.”
Stepping down as institutional partners are the Arms Control Association – which provided a home for the Forum since shortly after the Forum’s founding and fiscal sponsorship for many years – and the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC). Both were institutional partners from 2018-2023 and continue to collaborate with the Forum.
Additional Information and Links
The Forum on the Arms Trade was founded in 2015 and provides a venue for bringing its community's wide-ranging expertise together to amplify and strengthen its work, while also offering government and media members a one-stop resource for the latest information, analysis, and best contacts. Forum-listed experts are located around the world and work on diverse topics including human rights, development, arms control, humanitarian disarmament, cybersecurity, arms and the environment, anti-corruption, and related fields. forumarmstrade.org
Institutional partners
based in the United States
Center for International Policy was founded in 1975 and is an independent nonprofit center for research, public education and advocacy on U.S. foreign policy. It is also the fiscal sponsor of the Forum on the Arms Trade. internationalpolicy.org
Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) in the School of Public Policy conducts research, informs policy debates, and helps current and future leaders find creative solutions to complex global challenges. cissm.umd.edu
Security in Context is a team of international scholars foregrounding the needs of societies and reconsidering the ostensible benefits of security in context— that is, security policies considered with fuller awareness of the hazards they generate, as well as the historical power hierarchies and unequal systems they perpetuate. securityincontext.org
based in Latin America
Amassuru is a network of women working on security and defense issues in Latin America and the Caribbean. amassuru.org
SEHLAC (Seguridad Humana en Latinoamerica y el Caribe - Human Security in Latin America and the Caribbean) is a Latin American network of professionals and members of civil organizations specialized in international humanitarian law and human rights striving for human security and humanitarian disarmament in the region and the world. sehlac.org
based in Europe
PRISME (Pathways to Renewed and Inclusive Security in the Middle East) envisions a reconceptualization of security in the Middle East and North Africa to reflect the interests of diverse stakeholders and strategic partners, and which can provide guidance for a more peaceful and stable region. prismeinitiative.org
Shadow World Investigations undertakes path-breaking investigations into cases of grand corruption, corporate malfeasance and militarism, predominantly but not exclusively in the global arms trade. shadowworldinvestigations.org
Press contact:
- Jeff Abramson, Director, Forum on the Arms Trade, +1 (202) 780-6215, jeff@forumarmstrade.org
