February 28-March 4, 2011 | UN Headquarters, New York City

The five days of talks of the Second ATT PrepCom which ended in New York on 4 March 2011 focused on the scope and criteria of the proposed international treaty to control the arms trade: what weapons to include and what activities it should cover, such as imports, exports and trans-shipment. Government and NGO delegates from dozens of countries said the discussions had been a big step towards the establishment of a robust treaty. Despite serious efforts by some states to derail or weaken the process, a principled treaty is now beginning to be drafted.

PGA Member Senator Franklin Siakor participated in all 5 days of this Second PrepCom on the Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations in New York and spoke on behalf of Liberia during the work. Also engaged were PGA Executive Committee Member Hon. Bernadette Lahai, MP (Sierra Leone) and Hon. Donya Aziz (Pakistan).

Acting through its network of over 1,000 members in more than 126 countries worldwide, PGA will ensure that deliberations of this Second ATT PrepCom will be properly conveyed to all interested stakeholders worldwide, in particular Members of Parliament that play a key role in advocating for an Arms Trade Treaty and, once adopted, in drafting the necessary legislation to gift it full force and effect in their respective countries.

PGA will also send a small Delegation of its Members from key countries to the Third ATT PrepCom which will take place from July 11-15, 2011 at UN Headquarters in New York.

For further information on PGA's work generally on the ATT PrepCom, contact Peter Barcroft, Senior Program Officer, PGA at peter.barcroft@pgaction.org