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PGA’s vision is to contribute to the creation of a Rules-Based International Order for a more equitable, safe, sustainable and democratic world.

Campaign to Address the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and to Promote Universality and Implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)

The Challenge: Small and Light Weapons (SALW), a Threat to Peace, Security and Stability

The widespread misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW) has resulted in an extensive range of negative humanitarian and socio-economic consequences including loss of life and grievous injuries, while also contributing to the commission of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The illicit trade in SALW is fueled in significant part by inadequate regulation of SALW, a lack of proper implementation of legislation, and/or inadequate enforcement of existing regulations and legislation. These factors, either individually or in combination, contribute to a serious threat to peace, security, stability and sustainable development in many regions of the world.

To address this serious challenge, the international community has adopted a number of treaties and politically binding instruments, including the UN Firearms Protocol, the UN Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA), the International Tracing Instrument (ITI) and, most recently, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

Despite the progress made to-date, major challenges remain. One such challenge is the inadequate availability of reliable or detailed information on the scale and sources of illicit flows or holdings of small arms, which makes it difficult to assess the precise impact of illicit SALW in a quantifiable way. Secondly, there are notable policy challenges, as implementation and enforcement capacities vary greatly by region and country, making it more complex to generate solutions.

A number of challenges are common across regions and therefore ways forward can be devised through more all-encompassing approaches. These include:

  • The issue of inadequate capacity in national institutions such as police prosecution offices and customs.
  • The challenge of conveying alternative livelihoods to young men for whom firearms use serves as an accessible means for status and income generation.
  • The need for comprehensive National Action Plans on SALW with clear benchmarks and achievable goals.
  • The need for increased resource commitment to combat arms trafficking.
  • The need for strengthened border control measures in many affected regions.
  • The poor coordination of international cooperation and assistance.
  • The insufficient involvement of civil society and women decision-makers in efforts responding to the consequences of the illicit trade in SALW.

The COVID-19 pandemic has served to exasperate existing inequalities and insecurities globally, resulting in immediate and long-term consequences in conflict-affected regions, and for residing populations. Though much remains uncertain, it has become apparent that the pandemic will result in colossal damage in fragile states, spur unrest and severely challenge international crisis management systems. The humanitarian toll of the proliferation of SALW and the illicit arms trade on fragile populations will be further intensified as citizens grapple with the impact of COVID-19, and governments move to mitigate its spread. As already-weak and resource-poor public health infrastructures in fragile states continue to be become severely challenged and overwhelmed by the demands generated by the COVID-19 crisis, the capacity to manage and respond to other domestic peace and security challenges, including the immense challenge of the illicit trade in SALW, will become greatly limited. This poses significant risk of rogue non-state actors exploiting enhanced vulnerabilities on insufficient SALW stockpile management and security, furthering the illicit trade and the humanitarian consequences.

Furthermore, other notable consequences that have arisen, and will continue to arise as a result of this public health crisis, include authoritarian governments utilizing the situation as a means of power grabbing and stifling opposition, and potentially relying upon far-reaching tools to exercise control over citizen populations. The potential use of weaponized artificial intelligence in this instance under the guise of responding to increased citizen vulnerability, has also been posed by experts on humanitarian disarmament and the arms trade.

Given the continued and enhanced threat posed by the proliferation, transportation and use of illicit SALW, as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact in fragile contexts, PGA attaches great importance to continuing and advancing its campaign work in this critical area of international peace and security. More broadly, it should be noted, the impact of national and international disasters, including pandemics, serves to inform PGA’s International Peace and Security Program’s work in this area at all times.

The Response: The SALW/ATT Campaign

PGA's Campaign to Address the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons and promote Adoption, Universality and Implementation of the ATT was launched in 2006 in Dakar, Senegal. PGA organized successive activities in Tbilisi, Georgia and Manila, Philippines. The PGA membership subsequently attended and several actively participated in a number of the Preparatory Committee sessions leading up to the adoption of the ATT in 2013. PGA also spearheaded the signature of the Global Parliamentary Declaration in support of the adoption of the ATT by over 2,000 MPs from 110 countries worldwide in 2012 and 2013.

This campaign is grounded in recognition of the clear linkages between SALW regulation, peace and security, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly as it pertains to SDG 16, which seeks to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.” More specifically, Target 16.4 and Indicator 16.4.2, which address the reduction of arms flow and the tracing or establishment of arms’ illicit origins respectively, are of central relevance to the work of this campaign. SDG 11, which speaks to the matter of safe and resilient cities and societies, also informs the campaign in part.

Additionally, this campaign seeks to fulfill and is in line with key objectives and provisions outlined by The Secretary-General's Agenda for Disarmament, within the scope of the “Disarmament that Saves Lives” pillar of the Agenda. In this respect, the Secretary-General calls on States to support efforts to ‘mitigate the humanitarian impact of conventional arms’ and ‘address the excessive cumulation and illicit trade in small arms.’ This latter objective is of high relevance, as it calls on States to “build understanding on the impact of arms on conflict management”, “secure excessive and poorly maintained stockpiles”, and ‘promote regional dialogue to build confidence on military matters’, as outlined in Actions 21, 22 and 23 respectively; objectives which centrally inform the organization and execution of the work of this campaign.

To achieve its goal, the campaign mobilizes PGA and non-PGA Members of Parliament (MPs) worldwide with a demonstrated track record of success in promoting signature and ratification of international treaties to engage in promoting:

PGA attaches high priority to the incorporation of gender considerations into the activities and outputs of its campaigns. As such, PGA makes concerted efforts to ensure 50% of MPs targeted by this campaign are female Parliamentarians. Additionally, pre-designated portions of all national and international PGA workshops and field missions, are focused on improving participants’ understanding of crucial intersections between gender considerations and the UN Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda and theIllicit Trade in SALW and ATT Promotion. In this respect, addressing the nexus between UNSCR 1325 (2000), UNSCR 2493 (2019), other related WPS UNSCRs and UN General Assembly Resolutions, and the proliferation, trade and use of illicit SALW, is of high importance to this campaign.

Furthermore, through national and regional workshops and field missions, and post-meeting follow-up and technical support, PGA seeks to sensitive parliamentarians to the gender-specific impacts of the illicit trade in SALW; support capacity building in the area of gender-sensitive small arms control development and implementation; illustrate the importance and means of mainstreaming gender dimensions into UN Program of Action (PoA) implementation; and demonstrate the value of and create a forum for exchanging national experiences, lessons learned and best practices on the mainstreaming of gender dimensions into policies and programmes.

Margareta Cederfelt
Listen here! PGA’s President Ms. Margareta Cederfelt, MP (Sweden), on her role as a PGA member in the ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty by her country »
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Campaign Achievements

National Level

PGA members have contributed to ensuring approval and passing of improved domestic firearms legislations in 2 countries.

  • Liberia (2016): PGA member, Sen. Stephen Zargo has strongly advocated for the passing of the “Firearms Acts” and ensured the approval and passing of the bill.
  • Dominican Republic (2016): member of the PGA Executive Committee and Co-Convenor of the International Peace and Security Program, Dip. Victor Bisonó, spearheaded the codification of new legislation significantly tightening existing domestic firearms legislation/control, as well as penalization of usage or manufacture of WMD.

In addition, a number of PGA members in Africa and The Americas are actively engaged in advocating for and drafting improved domestic firearms legislation. Some key examples include:

  • El Salvador (2017): PGA members Dip. Nidia Diaz (Relator) and Dip. Lorenzo Rivas Echeverria of Committee of Defense of Legislative Assembly of El Salvador supported the unanimous adoption of a Bill to reform Domestic Firearms, Explosives and Ammunition Legislation, rendering access to such material more difficult for certain members of society. The Bill has gone before Plenary of the Legislative Assembly for vote.
  • Honduras (2017): PGA member Dip. Mario Pérez confirmed that the the Security Committee had decided to submit the draft legislation on firearms for discussion to the plenary of the Parliament.
  • Costa Rica (2017): On 5 September, PGA Executive Committee member Dip. Ronny Monge joined other colleagues and the Minister of Security of Costa Rica in presenting new draft legislation that seeks to more tightly control possession of firearms and ammunition in the country.
Regional Level

PGA members worldwide have promoted the adoption of the ECOWAS SALW Convention and its ratification in 3 countries.

International Level

PGA members have an unmatched record of contributing to advancing the ATT ratification/accession process in 49 of the 106 UN Member States that have ratified it to date.

Some recent key examples include:

  • Honduras (2015/ 2017): Three PGA members in the National Congress of Honduras played a fundamental role in the parliamentary ratification of the ATT in November 2015. The instrument of ratification was deposited in 2017.
  • Brazil (2018): PGA member Sen. Ana Amélia, as well as the Office of the Order of the Day in the Brazilian Senate, notified PGA of the approval of the Bill of the ATT in the Plenary of the Senate on 8 February. Ratification officially came into force as of November 2018.
  • Mozambique (2018): Hon. Antonio Niquice, PGA Executive Committee member, played a crucial role in securing the historic ratification of the ATT in 23 May.
  • Guinea Bissau (2018): In July, following considerable and central advocacy efforts by PGA Executive Committee Member Hon. Dr. Suzy Barbosa MP, the ATT received approval for ratification by the National Assembly.
  • Suriname (2018): Suriname’s ratification of the ATT in October was made possible by the PGA membership in the National Assembly, including Hon. Patrick Kensenhuis and Dr. Ruth Wijdenbosch.  
  • Palau (2019): In 2012, eight Members of the Parliament of Palau, at the behest of PGA, signed the Global Parliamentary Declaration in support of Adoption of the ATT. The country ratified the ATT in April 2019.
  • Canada (2019): From 2016 on, PGA member Hon. Hélène Laverdière had been an outspoken supporter of Canada joining the ATT. In December 2018, PGA Executive Committee Member, Hon. Ali Ehsassi, commended the Government of Canada at time of Passage of Royal Assent of An Act to amend the Export and Import Permits Act and the Criminal Code, enabling Canada to accede to the ATT. The country acceded to the ATT in June 2019.
  • Maldives (2019):The ATT was acceded to in August, and this was in part attributable to the instrumental efforts of Hon. Minister Ahmed Mahloof, a former long-term active PGA member, moving the Cabinet of the Government of The Maldives to accede.
  • Colombia (2019/2020): Following advocacy and outreach efforts of PGA members Sen. Iván Cepeda Castro and Rep. Ángela María Robledo Gómez, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated in February that the matter of accession to the ATT was subject to an inter-institutional review process between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense. In recent communications to PGA, it was noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that the Ministry of National Defence has prioritised the approval of the ATT, and consequently a new bill has been put in place. The bill is pending to be signed by the relevant Ministers and is intended to be submitted back to the Congress on the next parliamentary term.
  • Namibia (2020): Since 2013, PGA membership, together with other civil society organizations, have been advocating for the ratification of the ATT. These outreach efforts materialized in April 2020, with Namibia depositing its Instrument of Ratification of the ATT with the UN Secretary-General in New York, thereby becoming the 106th State Party to the ATT.

PGA members have also advocated for improved compliance with The Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA) including meeting national reporting requirements thereunder. PGA attaches great importance to encouraging submission of mandatory national reports highlighting steps taken to improve national small arms laws, import/export controls, stockpile management, engagement in cooperation and assistance.

 

How We Work

Supported by an expert Secretariat, PGA members work together to educate, sensitize, build technical capacity, and strengthen the political will of parliamentarians to achieve campaign objectives through concrete legislative and policy initiatives. PGA works with individual parliamentarians in their national contexts through country-specific strategies, leveraging that capacity with international networking to facilitate connections among parliamentarians and build bridges with civil society, domestic and international policy-makers, and other stakeholders.

Read more on our Theory of Change

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