Amman, Jordan, December 5-6, 2016

Supported by The UN Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR), PGA organized a Regional MENA Workshop to Promote Ratification and Implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty, hosted at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Jordan from 5-6 December, 2016.

The Workshop brought together several prominent Legislators and Government officials from countries such as Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, Somalia, Tunisia and Yemen for a two day period to discuss and review the Arms Trade Treaty, in particular its significance in the context of the MENA community with a view to identifying a range of practical steps and initiatives that could be taken to promote ratification and implementation of the ATT in their respective countries.  Also participating ate the workshop were the Ambassadors to Jordan from Australia and Switzerland.

This PGA Regional Middle East Workshop was facilitated by the United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR), the purpose of the workshop was to enable participating Members of Parliament and Government Officials from the MENA Region to share with their colleagues the current thinking and position in their respective countries in connection with the Arms Trade Treaty.

The main focus of the workshop was to target the inadequate, international regulation of arms exports to, and within, the Middle East region, and the legacy of wide scale human suffering and economic devastation left in the region, as result of it. The discussions aimed at identifying implementing lasting solutions for sustainable peace in the region given the current complex process with many different strands attached to it. The Legislators noted the need for a more effective control that ultimately could regulate the continuing influx of large, in some cases, de-stabilizing flows of arms into the region.

PGA was particularly pleased to ensure the extensive participation, including in the majority of panel presentations as well as interactive dialogue sessions, of a large number of representatives from 4 different civil society groups in Jordan, drawn primarily from those organizations engaged in addressing/combatting gender based violence in Jordan.

 A lively and engaging panel discussion dedicated to the gender component of the ATT took place in the morning of the second day of this Workshop.

At the conclusion of the Workshop, an ambitious Plan of Action was adopted to facilitate all crucial follow up actions by all participants under this project.

Individual National Road Maps are also being elaborated in consultation with each country Participant.

A full List of Participants in this Workshop may be viewed by clicking on the appropriate linked document on this page.

For further information on this MENA Workshop, please contact:

Peter Barcroft, Director of Peace & Democracy Program, PGA at or Thiago Carvalho, Program Associate, Peace & Democracy Program, PGA at