About
Article 36 is a UK-based not-for-profit organisation working to prevent the unintended, unnecessary or unacceptable harm caused by certain weapons. Article 36 undertakes research, policy and advocacy and promotes civil society partnerships to respond to harm caused by existing weapons and to build a stronger framework to prevent harm as weapons are used or developed in the future. The name refers to article 36 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions that requires states to review new weapons, means and methods of warfare.
Article 36 operates from a principle that practical, policy and legal controls over weapons should be founded on publicly transparent and evidence-based analysis. Such controls should aim for prevention of unintended, unnecessary or unacceptable harm and should be open to ongoing review. The standards of analysis should be the same whether the population likely to be put at risk by specific weapons is domestic or foreign and whether the weapons are intended to be lethal or for coercion.
Established partnerships
At an international level, Article 36:
* Hosts and provides coordination for the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW);
* Is on the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN);
* Is a founder of and on the Steering Committee of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots;
* Is on the Steering Group of the Every Casualty Campaign.
Is a member of:
* The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC);
* The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL);
* The Control Arms Campaign working for an Arms Trade Treaty;
* The International Committee for Robot Arms Control;
Article 36’s Director, Thomas Nash, is on the Board of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA).
At a national level in the UK, Article 36:
* Coordinates civil society advocacy on landmines, cluster munitions and explosive weapons in the UK;
* Provides the secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Weapons and the Protection of Civilians;
* Is a member of the UK Working Group on Arms;
* Is a member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) UK.
Article 36 has also developed an introduction to working in global civil society coalitions and is establishing web-based resources to share expertise across NGO coalitions internationally.
Staff
Article 36 was established by Thomas Nash and Richard Moyes.
Thomas Nash is Director of Article 36 and joint Coordinator of the International Network on Explosive Weapons. As Coordinator of the Cluster Munition Coalition from 2004 to 2011, Nash led the global campaign resulting in the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Nash previously worked for the New Zealand and Canadian Foreign Ministries in Geneva and Ottawa.
Richard Moyes is a Managing Partner at Article 36 and joint Coordinator of the International Network on Explosive Weapons. He was previously Director of Policy at Action on Armed Violence/Landmine Action, and Co-Chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition. Prior to that he established and managed explosive ordnance disposal projects for the UK NGO Mines Advisory Group. He is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Exeter.
Laura Boillot (née Cheeseman) is a Project Manager for Article 36. Laura previously worked as a Campaign Manager and subsequently as the Director of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC). Prior to that she was a Program Officer working on the Control Arms campaign and on issues related to gun control for the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA).
Governance
Article 36 is incorporated in the UK as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee (Company No. 07755941). It is overseen by a Board of Directors with backgrounds in advocacy, law, academia and finance.
Registered office: 19 Barnardo Rd, Exeter, EX2 4ND
Donors
Article 36′s work has been supported by:
Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
International Law and Policy Institute, Oslo
