January 21, 2015 | Parliament House, Islamabad
MINUTES OF DISCUSSION ON ARMS TRADE TREATY (ATT)
A session of round table discussion on Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), an important subject of International Peace and Security (P&D) Program of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), was held on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 2:00 pm in Parliament House, Pakistan, hosted by Hon. Syed Naveed Qamar, MP/Convener of P&D Program PGA.
2. The Following Members of Parliament attended the discussion:
- Hon. Shazia Marri, MNA
- Hon. Marriyum Aurangzeb, MNA
- Hon. Alizeh Iqbal Haider, MNA
- Hon. Shazadi Umarzadi Tiwana, MNA
- Hon. Mahreen Bhutto, MNA
- Hon. Imran Leghari, MNA
- Hon. Azra Fazal, MNA
- Hon. Nafisa Shah, MNA
- Hon. Mussarat Ahmadzeb, MNA
3. At the outset of the discussion, Hon. Qamar welcomed and expressed thanks to the members for joining the discussion. He informed the members about the circulated PGA Parliamentary Handbook on Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) which would provide brief introduction about the purpose, promotion, ratification and implementation of the treaty. He further discussed the importance of ATT, which is a global subject, in present security condition in Pakistan. He opined that due to recent incidents like Peshawar School Attack, there was sense of urgency for Pakistan to decide whether to promote ATT or not. Pakistan has taken initiatives like NACTA ACT, biometric verification and other similar efforts but ATT is a global initiative to restrict illegal arms proliferation and its advocacy in Pakistan is very important. He informed that about 130 countries had signed the treaty, 60 plus countries had ratified it and around 50 countries might be signing/ratifying it this year.
4. He further stated the purpose of ATT that this treaty focus on transparency in arms’ transfers and restrictions on trade of conventional weapons that cause conflict and instability. The goal of the treaty is to foster peace and security by controlling the transfer of these weapons to countries experiencing violence and terrorism. He expressed that Pakistan had suffered a lot due to terrorism and it is important for Pakistan to advocate ATT. Pakistan had taken a conservative approach in supporting and adopting such treaties. He was of the view that Pakistan might not only support ATT but also persuade other States to adopt it.
5. Members expressed huge amount of interest in the subject discussion. They took copy of the ‘Text of the Treaty’ for in depth study. A member in the discussion opined that there was a dire need to create awareness not only in Pakistan but also amongst the neighboring countries especially India.
6. During the discussion, members inquired about the stance of United States of America (USA) and India on ATT. Hon. Qamar informed that USA had signed but not ratified it while India had yet to sign the treaty. He added, on the question of a member, that Pakistan is not amongst the signatory states of ATT but it supports the treaty in United Nations.
7. In response to a query raised by members, about the type of weapons covered in the treaty, Hon. Qamar responded that the treaty applied on trade of all conventional arms from battle tanks to small arms and light weapons.
8. Hon. Qamar showed his deep concern over the flow of conventional weapons because there is a lack of transparency over arms transfers as well as absence of proper control and oversight. He suggested that greater accountability is needed to prevent arms diversion to illicit markets, or for unauthorized end users. He further added that the ATT did not affect the export of weapons to countries for legitimate national defense purposes where these exports do not pose a substantial risk of being abused or causing human rights violations.
9. In response to a query by a member related to relevant statistics on arms production and transfers, Hon. Qamar apprised that Ministry for Defense Production and Foreign Office might be able to provide appropriate statistics and they might be called in the next meeting. In another question of a member regarding supplies of arms to militants and accountability of state under ATT, he replied that it is the responsibility of the state to regulate and control conventional arms exclusively within its territory.
10. Members believe that they should progress further with open mind, restraining the conservative view on the treaty. They desired to hold future meetings on ATT to address and advocate the issue. A member opined that production of arms by major producers should be transparent and required that ministry officials might brief it in upcoming meeting. One of the members also inquired about any civil society lobbying on the issue.
11. Members in the discussion urged that all stakeholders might be invited in the next meeting. They were of the view that stakeholders should be taken into confidence including the government side to promote ATT. According to them, it was important to know the government prospective to progress further. One of the members suggested to list down questions to be asked from the participants. Members further discussed that they themselves should have clear understanding about the issue. It was also suggested that brainstorming and listening to private experts/defense analysts should be done and later on government officials should be asked to brief.
12. Hon. Qamar, after detailed discussion with the members and in light of their suggestions, expressed that in the next meeting there would an informal discussion among the members on ATT in the 1st part and government officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry for Defense Production might be invited to brief on the subject in the 2nd part.
13. It was also decided that a group, ‘Discussion Group on Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)’, might be formed in the Parliament of Pakistan.
14. It was decided to convene the next meeting on February 12, 2015 tentatively.
15. The meeting ended with a mutual vote of thanks.