NNA - Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights recently convened a panel discussion titled "Assessing Arab Countries' Compliance with United Nations Plan of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons."

The event took place on the sidelines of the Fourth United Nations Conference to review progress made in the implementation of the Programme of Action (PoA) to prevent, combat and eradicate the Illicit trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (RevCon4).

The panel included an esteemed group of experts, including Félix Aklavon, Director of Programs at Center for Research and Studies on Security and Development; María Pía Devoto, Director of Public Policy Association of Argentina; Rafah Najah, Doctor of International Law; Fadi Abi Allam, President of Permanent Peace Movement; and Karin Olofsson, Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons, among other experts in SALW.

The discussion centered on the extent to which Arab countries have fulfilled their commitments to submitting national reports to UN Programme of Action for the period from 2018 to 2024, as well as the challenge of small arms and light weapons proliferation in the Arab region.

Fadi Abu Allam of Permanent Peace Movement explained that 35 Arab countries have submitted their national reports to UN Programme of Action. However, he noted that many obstacles and challenges, such as a lack of systems, human resources, financial and technical capabilities, and coordination mechanisms within government structures, have prevented some Arab countries from fulfilling this reporting requirement.
María Pía Devotoprovided an overview of the reporting rates, highlighting that countries like Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, and Sudan have the highest rates, while Libya, Yemen, and Somalia have the lowest.

Karen Olofsson of Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons underscored that the spread of small arms and light weapons threatens security and undermines sustainable development goals, emphasizing the need for civil society organizations to work collaboratively to address this issue in the Arab region.

Rafah Najah, Doctor of International Law, criticized the League of Arab States for its limited role in combating the proliferation of small arms. Its role is limited only to attending and participating in international conferences without effective efforts to combat the spread of the phenomenon, calling on LAS to take a more active and substantive approach to preserving security and peace in the Arab region.

The panel discussion was moderated by Muhammad Mukhtar, Director of International Law Unit at Maat, who stressed that the proliferation of SALW has become a major obstacle to conflict resolution and peacebuilding in Arab region, as it fuels ongoing conflicts and undermines sustainable development.
 

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