New York, 27 June 2012

Delegates from 193 UN Member States gathered at the United Nations in New York to negotiate an international Arms Trade Treaty. 2,100 legislators from 114 countries worldwide have signed the Control Arms Global Parliamentarian Declaration on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) calling for a robust, legally-binding treaty that will effectively ensure more responsible transfers/exports of conventional weapons around the world.

Parliamentary Declaration

As so many others are, Legislators also feel deeply concerned that the international trade in arms, when undertaken irresponsibly, contributes to armed conflict and armed violence. This often results in the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, provokes internal and cross-border displacement and facilitates acts of terrorism and the illicit trade in narcotics.

The Control Arms Global Parliamentarian Declaration on the ATT will be presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on July 3, 2012 by H.V. Ross Robertson, President of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) and Assistant Speaker of the Parliament of New Zealand, as part of a formal ceremony at which a Global Petition and Declarations signed by large numbers of doctors and religious leaders will also be presented.

The Declaration was launched at the 33rd Annual Forum of Parliamentarians for Global Action in Colombo, Sri Lanka in November 2011. PGA and its Members have played a leading role in promoting the ATT and this Declaration among Parliamentarians around the world.

PGA brought over 20 Legislators to New York for the ATT Conference, including several from key countries in the negotiation process.

The following PGA members will be available for press interviews:  Ross Robertson, MP New Zealand; Dr. Donya Aziz, MP, Pakistan; Dr. Bernadette Lahai, MP, Sierra Leone; Dr. Ruth Wijdenbosch, MP, Suriname; Dr. Yusuf Ziya Irbec, MP, Turkey; Mr. Coskun Coruz, MP, The Netherlands; Dip. Felipe Michelini, Uruguay; Margareta Cederfelt, MP, Sweden; Dr. Jackie Blue, MP, New Zealand; Ms. Irene Torshie Addo, MP, Ghana; Dip. Margarita Stolbizer, Argentina; and Dip. Minou Tavarez Mirabal, Dominican Republic.

PGA, a non-profit, non-partisan international network of approximately 1,000 legislators in 120 elected parliaments, aims to promote peace, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, sustainable development and population issues by informing, convening, and mobilizing parliamentarians to realize these goals. PGA is also a Steering Board member of the Control Arms Coalition.

CONTACT: Peter Barcroft, Director of Projects and Senior Program Officer
PGA Headquarters - New York
T: 1 917 414 0254 - E: