Parliamentary Forum on SALW co-organizes webinar on Disarmament that saves lives: Curbing uncontrolled flows of Small Arms and Light Weapons- the role of parliaments
On 10 March 2022, with funding from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Parliamentary Forum on SALW (PF-SALW) co-organised a webinar together with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND), the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and the World Future Council (WFC). This was the fourth international parliamentary event in follow-up to the publication of the parliamentary handbook “Assuring our Common Future”, launched to support the parliamentary role in contributing to the implementation of the United Nations Secretary General’s Disarmament Agenda “Securing our Common Future”. The webinar was held in two sessions, the first timed for parliamentarians from Asia and the Pacific, and the second session timed for parliamentarians from the Americas, Africa and Europe.
The parliamentary handbook "Assuring our Common Future" focuses on parliamentary action to implement the Disarmament Agenda put forward by UN Secretary-General in 2018. This Agenda includes a set of goals and practical measures across the entire range of disarmament issues, including weapons of mass destruction, outer space, conventional weapons and future weapon technologies. The handbook provides additional background to these disarmament issues, makes connections between disarmament and sustainable development including climate protection, provides examples of effective policies and parliamentary action, and offers recommendations for further parliamentary action. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the handbook also includes a focus on disarmament and pandemics. As part of an initiative led by PNND, PF-SALW is co-sponsor and co-publisher of the handbook together with IPU, GCSP, WFC, and Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). It is supported by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).
