Action On Armed Violence
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Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) is a London-based non-governmental organization conducting research and advocacy on the incidence and impact of global armed violence. Iain Overton, an investigative journalist and author, is the Executive Director of the organisation. AOAV's research and advocacy work is focused on global armed violence, with a specialisation in explosive weapons. One of the charity's core functions is its Explosive Violence Monitor. This monitor has been cited by organisations such as
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'',
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
,
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
, and the
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.


Conflict casualty data

In December 2020, AOAV's data was reported in ''The Guardian'' as showing that British soldiers were 12% more likely to have been killed than their American counterparts during the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a study of casualty figures. The research – intended as a lessons learned exercise – also concluded that UK forces were 26% more likely to have been killed by improvised explosives, validating longstanding complaints about the poorly armoured Snatch Land Rover. In May 2021, AOAV's explosive violence data was also reported in ''The Guardian'' as showing that "Civilians accounted for 91% of those killed or injured by explosive weapons in populated areas worldwide over the last 10 years – a total of 238,892 people – according to a study of thousands of incidents."


Recording civilian harm

In March 2019, AOAV was reported by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
as finding out that the RAF killed or injured 4,315 enemy fighters in Iraq and Syria between September 2014 and January 2019. Of those harmed, 4,013, or 93%, were killed, and 302, or 7%, were injured. The UK's
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
had said only one civilian was killed in the airstrikes, according to figures released to the charity. However AOAV expressed scepticism at such a low rate of civilian casualties. In April 2021, AOAV was reported by
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
as finding out that Black people are three times more likely to be killed on the streets of London than other ethnic groups. Almost half of all murder victims in the capital in 2019 were Black despite them making up only 13 per cent of the city’s population. In May 2021, AOAV was reported by
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
as finding out that between 2016 and 2020, 40 percent of all civilian air strike casualties in Afghanistan were children. AOAV had reported that, of the 3,977 casualties caused over five years, 1,598 were children killed or wounded in attacks from the air. Civilian casualties resulting from air strikes by the Afghan Air Force during the first six months of 2020 had tripled compared to the same time period in 2019.


Monitoring the arms trade

In August 2016, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' cited AOAV's research into 14 years’ worth of Pentagon contract information related to weapons supplied to American troops and for their partners and proxies. AOAV found the Pentagon provided more than 1.45 million firearms to various security forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, including more than 978,000 assault rifles, 266,000 pistols and almost 112,000 machine guns. In January 2021, ''The Guardian'' cited AOAV's research on the UK government's approval of exports between January 2015 and June 2020 to countries listed by the Department for International Trade as 'subject to arms embargo, trade sanctions and other trade restrictions'. AOAV found that Britain had approved exports of military items to 80% of the destinations on the list. AOAV also found that UK export licences for small arms and ammunition have been approved to 31 destinations on the embargoed and restricted list, including assault rifles, pistols, sniper rifles and shotguns. Many of these sent to areas that have recently suffered from violent conflicts or state oppression, including Kenya, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Togo, Oman, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Pakistan.


References

{{Reflist Charities based in the United Kingdom