Disarmament in Review
Implementing agency: Act for Peace (Secretariat for the Pacific Small Arms Action Group)
Project timeframe: 01/01/2015 – 31/12/2016
Target countries: Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Indonesia (participated in MSG workshop), Palau, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Samoa
Goal: To reduce vulnerability of the Pacific region to illicit arms and armed violence through the adoption of strong international standards on arms control across the region, namely by encouraging states to move towards ratification and national implemetation of the Arms Trade Treaty and the United Nations Programme of Action on small arms and light weapons.
Activities and Outputs:
- 5 States participated in a sub-regional workshop that was held in conjunction with the Melanesian Spearhead Group in Vanuatu in 2015. Subsequently, The Pacific Small Arms Action Group held 3 national workshops with the Solomon Islands, Fiji and PNG that focused on determining current shortcomings in the legal and technical aspects of arms control systems. This work culminated in 5 States completing an ATT baseline assessment and a broader group of States conducting an analysis of the obligations of the ATT/PoA.
- Several one-on-one teleconference meetings took place during the project which focused on increasing Pacific engagement with civil society to allow for States who experienced difficulties in acquiring workshop permits such as Fiji, to engage in consultation sessions.
- 2015 saw the launching of an implementation guide titled, ‘Arms and Ammunition in Oceania: A Guide for Governments’ which was distributed in hard copy to 150 Ministers, government officials and stakeholder and soft copy to a 300 person email list. This guide is regularly sourced during government interventions and is accompanied with a training toolkit.
Overview of projects selected in 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | special circumstances projects
