Center for Peace Education (CPE) of Miriam College joins Control Arms from October 17-25, 2019 for the 74th United Nations General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security (UNGA-First Committee) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. First Committee is a month-long discussion covering all areas on disarmament such as autonomous drones, anti-personnel landmines, nuclear weapons and the international arms trade.
CPE Project Officer and Gender and Disarmament Focal Point, Bianca Pabotoy (Col ’17), represented the office as the coalition’s campaigner in the Asia-Pacific region. She also delivered the Civil Society statement on Gender and Disarmament drafted by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) in plenary last October 18, 2019.
The statement welcomes the growing interest on the topic of “gender and disarmament,” and the increase in the number of resolutions advocating for women’s equal participation or gendered impacts of weapons. In August this year, the 5th Conference of State Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty also focused on its gender provisions, adopting action points to ensure implementation of those provisions.
The Gender and Disarmament statement also calls for “a more robust reflection of the gendered norms associated with weapons, war, and violence which is crucial for effectively addressing the challenges associated with the proliferation and use of weapons in and out of conflict.”
The Thematic Debate on Conventional Arms continued from October 21-25, with regional campaigners of Control Arms lobbying for country sponsorship on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Resolution. As of November 1, the Philippines joins Australia, Japan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, New Zealand, Palau, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Samoa, and Vanuatu in sponsoring the ATT resolution from Asia and the Pacific.
The Philippines has signed the ATT in 2013, with the treaty’s ratification submitted for concurrence in the Senate. Continued attention, support, and treaty universalization ensures responsible global arms trade to reduce human suffering.
Miriam College CPE continues its campaigns on disarmament work both for the ATT and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Nuclear Ban Treaty), as part of its mission of building a culture of peace.
The full Gender and Disarmament statement can be accessed here: http://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com19/statements/18Oct_Gender.pdf
