17 aug NOW AVAILABLE – REPORT FROM OUR SIDE EVENT AT THE SEVENTH BIENNIAL MEETING OF STATES ON THE UN POA
The Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons would like to extend its sincere gratitude to all participants who joined us for the side event on July 29 titled “Connecting the Dots: Enhancing implementation of the UN PoA and the Women, Peace & Security and 2030 Agendas – through increased parliamentary engagement and action in international processes”. The side event took place virtually at the side-lines of Seventh Biennial Meetings of States (BMS 7) on the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UN PoA). A special thank you to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden for sponsoring the side event and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) for the fruitful collaboration and to the panellists for their valuable contributions.
The conclusions from the side event included:
- The importance of political will and sufficient resources for enhanced implementation of the UN PoA was highlighted, along with the vital role of parliamentarians in taking effective legislative, oversight and awareness raising actions at the national and regional levels to address the root causes of uncontrolled Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) proliferation and armed violence.
- The need for a consistent gender equality perspective, including in the adoption of laws and implementation of national action plans on SALW, as well as ensuring the equal participation of women in state institutions and agencies in charge of implementing SALW policies.
Please find our newly released report from the side event here: http://parliamentaryforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Final-report-PoA-BMS-7-PFSALW-Side-event-Connecting-the-Dots-July-29-2021.pdf
