Parliament of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 29-30 January, 2020
PGA organized a productive Regional South and South East Asia Parliamentary Workshop Promoting Engagement of Women Parliamentarians in Addressing the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Malaysian Parliament in Kuala Lumpur from 29-30 January, 2020. This was held in cooperation with the Parliament of Malaysia and funded by UNSCAR. Prominent Members of Parliament (MPs) from Malaysia, the Maldives and Pakistan participated in the event, and contributed to an active dialogue. PGA was pleased to have this dialogue supplemented by valuable opening remarks from Hon. Speaker of Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Dato' Mohamad Ariff bin Md Yusof; Minister M. Kulasegaran of Malaysia, former PGA Executive Committee Member; EU Ambassador & Head of Delegation to Malaysia, H.E. Mrs. Maria Castillo Fernandez; and UNDP Resident Representative for Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei, H.E. Mr. Niloy Banerjee.
The Workshop served as an invaluable opportunity to share national and regional experiences relating to the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW), exchange best practices and importantly, identifying different ways to increase involvement of female decision-makers in SALW decision-making processes. Hon. Speaker Mohamad Ariff bin Md Yusof opened the event by highlighting the devastating and all-encompassing consequences resulting from the illicit transfer and use of SALW at the national, regional and global level. Thereafter, Minister M. Kulasegaran stressed the importance of this regional gathering, and emphasized Malaysia’s foremost commitment to combatting the illicit SALW trade, alongside past efforts to promote ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty that he had undertaken. He encouraged current PGA Members in Malaysia to continue to ask questions in Parliament to promote ratification of the ATT. Ambassador H.E. Maria Castillo Fernandez discussed the gender-specific impacts of the illicit trade in SALW, and the EU’s active efforts to train country-level officials in South Asia on gender mainstreaming processes. The opening remarks concluded with PGA Executive Committee Member Hon. Kasthuri Patto, MP (Malaysia) speaking also to the importance of Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) ratification, and UNDP Resident Representative H.E. Niloy Banerjee highlighting the moral imperative to effectively implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.
PGA International Peace and Security Program Senior Director Peter Barcroft subsequently gave an overview on the goals and objectives of the Workshop which lead to a lively, one-hour-long interactive dialogue session and exchange of views, questions, comments and broader observations by all participants.
Participating MPs delivered comprehensive presentations highlighting their respective national experiences with the illicit trade in SALW. Hon. Kasthuri Patto (MP, Malaysia) spoke to the array of disproportionate direct and indirect impacts the arms trade poses for women and children, and the pervasive resulting human rights violations. Hon. Patto underscored the need to centrally involve civil society and national human rights institutions in SALW policy formulation, reporting and review processes. Hon. Rozaina Adam (MP, Maldives) emphasized that being a small island state, the Maldives does not have interest in engaging in the arms trade and given its strict domestic firearms laws, civilians are banned from possessing firearms of any kind, for any purpose. Nonetheless, Hon. Adam emphasized that in today’s interconnected world, Maldivian citizens are not immune to the dangers of the illicit SALW trade. In particular, she highlighted the increasing cases of Maldivian women and children falling victim to forced cross-border transit into conflict-affected countries, by partners and fathers influenced by extremist ideologies, and in many cases dying in conflict fueled by illicit SALW. Hon. Adam also underlined her Government’s strong commitment to gender equality, as evidenced by the number of female MPs in positions of senior political leadership in the Peoples Majlis.
Hon. Mohamed Nashiz (MP, Maldives) spoke to the Maldives recent ratification of the ATT and the Government’s experience working with the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) to support implementation of the UN Program of Action on SALW and the ATT. Additionally, he spoke to a 2015 maritime incident in which multiple, untraceable, weapons and ammunitions were discovered – as demonstrative of inadequate national SALW laws and regulations. He noted that these experiences prompted a request for technical and legal assistance on the issue of brokering, as well as customs and borders, in recently submitted PoA National Reports.
Hon. Naz Baloch (MP, Pakistan) discussed the unique role female legislators can and must play in national SALW legislative processes. She reiterated that the majority of illicit SALW found within Pakistan originate from outside of the Southeast Asia region, while having devastating impact on vulnerable civilian populations within Pakistan’s borders – particularly women and children. Hon. Naveed Qamar (MP, Pakistan) offered a valuable historical overview of the SALW crisis in Pakistan, which emphasized the role of the Cold War in driving the proliferation of SALW in the region. He described the deadly consequences of illicit SALW in the national context, and its intersection with national socio-economic challenges. In this regard, the role of poverty combined with the ease of access to illicit SALW has left certain populations, notably young males, vulnerable to exploitation by criminal groups.
The Kuala Lumpur Plan of Action was adopted by the Participants at the conclusion of the Workshop to facilitate follow-up steps in the coming months.
