United Nations Regional Disarmament Centre Organizes Asia-Pacific Capacity-Building Workshop to Implement Arms Trade Treaty

NEW YORK, 8 September (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The Government of Samoa and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) are jointly organizing a workshop on building capacity for the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty in the Pacific, in Apia, Samoa, from 13 to 15 September 2016.  The workshop is made possible with financial support from the Governments of Australia and New Zealand.

Having entered into force in December 2014, the Treaty is the first legally binding instrument to regulate the international trade in conventional arms by establishing the highest possible common international standards to prevent and eradicate illicit trade and diversion of conventional arms.  This is also the first treaty to recognize the link between gender-based violence and the trade in conventional arms.

To date, 130 States have signed the Treaty, while 87 States are parties to it.  This workshop will contribute to the universalization of the Arms Trade Treaty, which is of particular importance for States of the Pacific region.

Government experts in the area of conventional arms control from 10 Pacific island States, as well as representatives from the United Nations, academia and non-governmental organizations, will meet in Apia to exchange views and share experiences regarding preparations for the Treaty’s future implementation.  The workshop aims to enhance the capacity of participating States in meeting the Treaty’s provisions on the establishment and maintenance of national control systems for conventional arms transfers.  It also intends to foster regional dialogue among the Pacific island States by addressing practical aspects of the Treaty’s implementation and introducing different tools and actors offering support in this regard.

The workshop will also include a special session on the status of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and a practical exercise on the preparation of national reports to the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, the Register of Conventional Arms and the Report on Military Expenditures.

For further information, please contact Yuriy Kryvonos, Director of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, by e-mail at info@unrcpd.org.