On April 26-27, 2018, PGA’s Peace & Democracy Program organized in Samoa a Regional Parliamentary Workshop on Improving Compliance with the UN Program of Action Addressing The Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons and Promoting Greater and More Effective Participation by Women MPs in Parliamentary Defence, Security and Interior Committees which brought together prominent Legislators and several Government officials from Samoa, Solomon Islands, Niue, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, New Zealand, Kiribati, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea to discuss and review the UN Program of Action Addressing The Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, in particular its significance in the context of the Pacific Island community with a view to identifying a range of practical steps and initiatives that could be taken to Promote Improved Compliance with Reporting Requirements under the PoA on SALW as well as to Promote a Greater and More Effective Participation by Women MPs in Parliamentary Defence, Security, Interior and Gender Committees.

Also participating at the workshop were the Deputy and Acting-Prime Minister (Deputy) of Samoa who gave an excellent key note address, the Acting-Attorney General and the Commissioner of Police of Samoa as well as the UN/UNDP Resident Coordinator in Samoa and the High-Commissioner of New Zealand to Samoa.

This PGA Regional Pacific Island Workshop was organized in partnership with the Legislative Assembly of Samoa, facilitated by Associate Minister, PGA Member Hon. Lemalu Lemi Taefu, MP, and kindly funded by the UN Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR)  . The purpose of the Workshop was to enable participating Members of Parliament from 9 Pacific Island Nations, among other Government Officials, to share with their colleagues the current thinking and position in their respective countries in connection with the UN Program of Action Addressing The Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons.

The main focus of the workshop was not only to raise awareness and understanding surrounding the importance of revising existing legislation related to improving compliance with the UN Program of Action addressing the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons but also to encourage participants to take all necessary steps to ensure its robust implementation.

During the course of the 2 Day Workshop, both in formal presentations and during the highly participatory Interactive Dialogue segments, all of the MPs present gave precise information on improving compliance with the UN Program of Action addressing the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in their respective countries as well as steps they are currently undertaking to promote a greater and more effective participation by women MPs in parliamentary Defence, Security and Interior Committees, as appropriate

Participants also chose to informally discuss other, related areas of disarmament, including ratification and implementing legislation on the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and implementation of UNSCR 1540 (2004).

At the conclusion of the Workshop, the Apia Plan of Action was adopted to facilitate all crucial follow up actions by all participants, in the aftermath of this Workshop, with a requirement to report back to the PGA Secretariat on initial steps taken within 4 months of the date of conclusion of the Workshop.

In parallel, individual/bilateral follow-ups and technical assistance will also be provided by PGA Secretariat Staff in New York.

A full List of Participants in this Workshop can be downloaded in the sidebar.

For further information on this Regional Pacific Island Workshop, please contact:

Peter Barcroft, Director of Peace & Democracy Program, PGA at peter.barcroft@pgaction.org

Thiago Carvalho, Program Officer, Peace & Democracy Program, PGA at thiago@pgaction.org