July 11-15, 2011 | UN Headquarters, New York City

PGA brought a Delegation of 7 Members of Parliament from India, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Suriname, Pakistan, Uruguay and Sweden to the July 2011 3rd PrepCom for the Arms Trade Treaty at UN Headquarters in New York.

Direct involvement of these Legislators in the ATT PrepCom process, and as integral members of their official country delegations, will better enable them to advocate more effectively in support of a robust ATT with their respective governments/relevant Ministries, equipping them with the requisite technical 'know how'.

This is also of particular importance in the longer term insofar as the their vital role as lawmakers is concerned - advocating for ratification of the Treaty once the text is agreed upon as well as primary stakeholders when it comes to putting in place the necessary implementing legislation in their respective countries, adequately informed by their participation in this ATT PrepCom negotiations.

In addition, PGA convened a Workshop on 12th July 2011, kindly hosted by the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations, on 'Legislators and the ATT - A Vital Role' in which the Legislators had the opportunity to interact with the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament ,H.E. Sergio de Queiroz Duarte, representatives of the UN secretariat/community (other UN agencies and regional offices) as well as representatives invited from other engaged NGOs.

The goal of the event was to further enhance parliamentarians capacity to advocate more effectively in support of the ATT with relevant government interlocutors upon their to their respective countries.

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