Iain Overton

Action on Armed Violence

Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) has a central mission: to carry out research and advocacy in order to reduce the incidence and impact of global armed violence. The need to do so is clearly a great one. The number of fatalities from armed violence is estimated to be over half a million people killed every year. And around two thirds of these violent deaths are estimated to occur outside conflict situations. To help reduce this burden of pain and suffering, we at AOAV carry out research and advocacy campaigns to strengthen international laws and standards on the availability and use of conventional and improvised weapons, to build recognition of the rights of victims and survivors of armed violence, and to research, understand and act effectively on the root causes of armed violence in affected countries. Research One of the central pillars of our work is our Global Explosive Violence Monitor, as well as the specific research we carry out on manufactured weapons, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and guns. Advocacy AOAV tries to lobby governments and non-state actors through rigorous research and data, to curb the excessive use of force. In so doing, we regularly present our evidence at the United Nations, as well as the UK Parliament, Chatham House and other influential fora. Details of our members of networks, campaigns and working groups can be seen here. Our ambition is to make the world a safer place. Please help us in this goal by sharing our work on this webpage and letting others know what we do.