The Regional Africa Parliamentary Workshop brought together prominent Legislators and several Government officials from The Gambia, Lesotho, Malawi and Tanzania for a two day period to discuss and review strategies 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 in their respective countries.

This PGA Regional Africa Workshop was hosted in collaboration with the House of Parliament of Tanzania, and kindly sponsored by the United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation(UNSCAR). The purpose of the Workshop was to enable participating Members of Parliament and Government Officials from specifically affected African Nations, to share with their colleagues the current thinking and position in their respective countries 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.

In addition to The Gambia, Lesotho, Malawi and Tanzania, Members of Parliament and Government Officials from 18  other African Countries such as Central-African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, eSwatini, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, , Mauritania, Namibia,  Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe , were also in attendance. These MPS were in Tanzania attending another PGA  Workshop to Promote Universality and Implementation of The BTWC and Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1540 (2004), that took place two days before.

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 the current status of their compliance with the  PoA on SALW in their respective countries as well as steps they are currently undertaking to  Improve 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, as appropriate.

At the conclusion of the Workshop, a highly focused set of strategic steps was provided to facilitate all crucial follow up actions by all participants, in the aftermath of this Workshop.

All participants undertook, inter alia, to report back to PGA on what steps they have been able to take pursuant to these agreed steps within a 3 month period from 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 and The Hague.

For further information on this Regional Africa Workshop, please contact:

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

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