27 August - 7 September, 2012 | UN Headquarters, New York City
Executive Summary
On Monday August 27, 2012, the opening day of the Second Review Conference of the UN Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) and the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations co-hosted a Side Event on the Role of Legislators in the Implementation of this Program of Action.
The purpose of the event was to address progress made and remaining shortcomings in the implementation of the Program of Action of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) discuss ways in which legislators can effectively address these challenges.
The Panel Participants included Mr. Daniël Prins, head of the Conventional Arms Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and Secretary of the Review Conference; Mr. Jordan Ryan, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, United Nations Development Program (UNDP); Dr. Donya Aziz, member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and Convenor of PGA’s Sustainable Development, Health and Population Program; Mr. Robert Halef, Member of Parliament of Sweden; and Ms. Shazia Z. Rafi, Secretary General of PGA.
Ambassador Yanerit Morgan, Mexico’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, chaired the session.
The event was attended by delegates from Guatemala, Israel, Ireland, El Salvador, Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mexico, Turkey, the European Union and the United States, as well as representatives from UN agencies and civil society.
Main points addressed included:
- Role of Members of Parliament (MPs) in improving coordination among outcomes at international and regional agencies dealing with small arms and light weapons;
- Link between armed violence and development and how MPs can become political champions to reduce demand on SALW and develop strategies on security while strengthening the rule of law;
- Gender dimension of small arms and light weapons. Women as vital agents and active decision-makers in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and disarmament processes;
- Questions of harmonization of legislation to develop common regulatory policy against small arms;
- Parallels among the Program of Action on SALW and the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).