Forum on the Arms Trade
  • Home
  • Annual Conference 2021
  • Experts
    • View all - by location
    • View by issue expertise >
      • View all
      • US Policy and Practice >
        • Arms sales
        • Security assistance
        • Export control
        • Defense industry
      • International Instruments >
        • Arms Trade Treaty
        • CCW
        • Other instruments
      • Weapons >
        • small arms/light weapons
        • drones
        • landmines/cluster munitions
        • killer robots
        • cyber
        • explosive weapons
        • F-35
      • International Trade >
        • Global trade data/trends
        • Strategic trade control
        • Africa
        • Latin America
        • Middle East
        • Europe
        • Asia
      • Implications >
        • Harm to civilians
        • Gender
        • Child soldiers
        • Arms trafficking
        • Corruption
        • Environment
    • A to B >
      • Rasha Abdul Rahim
      • Jeff Abramson
      • Ray Acheson
      • Linda Åkerström
      • Adotei Akwei
      • Waleed Alhariri
      • Radhya al-Mutawakel
      • Alma Taslidzan Al-Osta
      • Peter Asaro
      • David Atwood
      • Kathi Lynn Austin
      • Natalia Báez Zamudio
      • Deepayan Basu Ray
      • Brittany Benowitz
      • Lucie Béraud-Sudreau
      • Seth Binder
      • Subindra Bogati
      • Laura Boillot
      • Matthew Breay Bolton
      • Mark Bromley
      • Martin Butcher
    • C to G >
      • Magda Coss Nogueda
      • Verity Coyle
      • Anna Crowe
      • Maria Pia Devoto
      • Lode Dewaegheneire
      • Shannon Dick
      • Bonnie Docherty
      • Geoffrey L. Duke
      • Nils Duquet
      • Cindy Ebbs
      • Jennifer L. Erickson
      • Andrew Feinstein
      • Aude Fleurant
      • Denise Garcia
      • Dan Gettinger
      • Natalie Goldring
      • Colby Goodman
      • Hector Guerra
    • H to L >
      • William Hartung
      • Lisa Haugaard
      • Alexandra Hiniker
      • Erin Hunt
      • Adam Isacson
      • Roy Isbister
      • Cesar Jaramillo
      • N.R. Jenzen-Jones
      • Adele Kirsten
      • Kate Kizer
      • Michael Klare
      • Guy Lamb
      • Edward J. Laurance
      • John Lindsay-Poland
    • M to R >
      • Daniel Mack
      • Daniel Mahanty
      • Ara Marcen Naval
      • Ivan Marques
      • Jesus Martínez
      • Montserrat Martínez Téllez
      • Nicholas Marsh
      • Stephen Miles
      • Elizabeth Minor
      • Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan
      • Robert Muggah
      • Wanda Munoz
      • Folade Mutota
      • Jasmin Nario-Galace
      • Amy Nelson
      • Linnet L. Wairimu Ng'ayu
      • Diana Ohlbaum
      • Iain Overton
      • Scott Paul
      • Carlos Pérez Ricart
      • Samuel Perlo-Freeman
      • Allison Pytlak
      • Josh Ruebner
    • S to Z >
      • Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
      • Camilo Serna
      • Annie Shiel
      • Stephen Mwachofi Singo
      • Frank Slijper
      • Nate Smith
      • Mandy Smithberger
      • Emma Soubrier
      • Anna Stavrianakis
      • Rachel Stohl
      • A. Trevor Thrall
      • Francesco Vignarca
      • Jodi Vittori
      • Leah Wawro
      • Doug Weir
      • Anne-Charlotte Merrell Wetterwik
      • Patrick Wilcken
      • Cristian Wittmann
      • Elias Yousif
      • Wim Zwijnenburg
  • Emerging Experts
  • Looking Ahead 2021 Blog
  • Resource Page - Trump & Saudi Arms Sales
  • Resource Page - Trump & UAE Arms Sales
  • Major Arms Sales Notifications Tracker
  • Resource Page - U.S. Arms Sales to Taiwan
  • Resource Page - US Landmine Poilicy
  • Resource Page - USML Cat I-III to Commerce
  • U.S. Presidential Election 2020 - Candidate Positions
    • Arms Trade Treaty
    • Arms Sales to Saudi Coalition
    • Firearms Export Oversight
    • Mine Ban Treaty
    • Candidate List >
      • Donald Trump
      • Joe Biden
  • Resource Page - U.S. Arms Sales to India
  • Events
  • Journalists
  • Get on the list
  • Support
  • About
  • Archives
    • All Archives
    • Expert Publications
    • Blog
    • Newsletter
Alma Al-Osta
Adèle Kirsten
Director, Gun Free South Africa (website)
twitter: @AdeleK111
email: adele [at] gfsa [dot] org [dot] za

Africa | small arms and light weapons

Adèle Kirsten has been a non-violent, social justice activist for over thirty years in South Africa. She was a founding member of Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) and became its Director in March 1995 (until 2002, returning in 2013). She was responsible for helping build the organisation into a national NGO, which together with the Gun Control Alliance, played an important role in advocating for stricter gun laws in South Africa. In November 2000, the Firearms Control Act was passed. Adèle was named the South African Woman of the Year in 2000 under the media and communications category.
 
In 2008, her book on the history of GFSA A Nation without Guns? The Story of Gun Free South Africa was published by UKZN Press. In the field of small arms control as a researcher and analyst: she was appointed to several advisory boards, notably the UK Department for International Development Armed Violence and Poverty Initiative as well as the OECD Advisory panel on armed violence reduction. She was also a research associate with the Institute of Security Studies and has published several papers on strategies to reduce gun violence including an evaluation of firearms amnesties in South Africa.

From 2008 to 2010 she was Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. In 2016 she was appointed to the Marikana Panel of Experts (one of 6 civil society members) by the President to provide input into and guide the review of the use of less-lethal weapons by the Public Order Police (POP) units in South Africa.
Proudly powered by Weebly