Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament to Hold Workshop on Women, Peace, Security for Non-Governmental Organizations, Parliamentarians

NEW YORK, 2 July (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, through its regional project on women, peace and security, is organizing a “Workshop for Southeast Asia on Gun Violence and Illicit Small-Arms Trafficking from a Gender Perspective” in Bangkok from 3 to 6 July.

The event will gather senior-level representatives of leading national non-governmental organizations focused on gender issues and women’s empowerment, members of parliaments from South-East Asia dealing with arms-control issues, international experts and United Nations officials.  By applying a gender perspective, the workshop will address strengthening control of small arms and light weapons and promoting women’s participation in decision-making processes in the field of arms control in the region.  The workshop aims to enhance gender-sensitive decision-making with respect to the impact of gun violence on women.

The workshop will also seek to empower the participating non-governmental organizations to initiate advocacy, raise awareness regarding the combating of the illicit small arms trade, and promote key international arms-control instruments, such as the Arms Trade Treaty and the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.  It will afford the representatives of participating non-governmental organizations and parliamentarians from various South-East Asian countries the opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss strategies, and consider possibilities for joint initiatives to address the challenge of the illicit small arms trade and its evident impact on women.

The United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council have, in numerous resolutions, called for full and meaningful participation of women in peace, disarmament and arms control efforts, which the workshop also aims to promote.  Besides strengthening national control of small arms and light weapons and compliance with related international instruments, the workshop will contribute to realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Goal 5 on gender equality and Goal 16 on peaceful societies.

The workshop is funded by the United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation.

For further information:  Aleksander Micic; info@unrcpd.org.