Celebrating Feminists’ Voices, Inspiring Global Peace

Reflections on the Second Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty

31 August 2016

On Friday 26 August 2016, President Imohe closed the Second Conference of States Parties (CSP2) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). From WILPF’s perspective, and many others in civil society, the conference did not live up to necessity. While exporting states parties reiterated their commitments to the ATT, it was clear that this commitment has its limits, and that these limits appear to correspond directly with lucrative opportunities for arms deals generated by conflicts such as that in Yemen. In the case of the UK and other exporters to Saudi Arabia, to continue these arms sales is to undermine the implementation of the ATT, despite ample pressure on the UK government to review these exports.

Encouraging developments

Nevertheless, there has been busy progress in the more procedural and administrative tasks of the conference. These are essential components for the operation of the ATT, and are part of the process of any multilateral instrument. A Voluntary Trust Fund (VTF) has been established according to Article 16 of the Treaty text, with a diverse membership amongst its selection committee and a number of states expressing their interest in being donors. The financial assistance of the VTF should help to support equal participation and strengthen the implementation of the Treaty, contributing to conference attendance, and to technical and legal capacity building.

Three working groups have been set up, on reporting and transparency, implementation, and universalisation. The terms and conditions of these subsidiary bodies of the ATT have not yet been decided, but for now the understanding is that the working groups will be open to civil society, discouraging practices of exclusion and privacy. Transparency and public reporting were part of WILPF’s advocacy points for this conference, and maintaining civil society participation in the ATT’s subsidiary bodies is an essential component of this. As stated during the conference by Natalie Goldring in the CSP2 ATT Monitor, “If countries can’t justify their actions to the public, they shouldn’t be taking those actions in the first place.”

The creation of the working groups implies consensus among CSP2 participants that these aspects of the Treaty – implementation, universalisation and reporting – are the most substantial and therefore require a depth of discussion that might not be permitted by the time constraints of a full conference. This is encouraging, though it is important that these groups allow for the full and effective participation of civil society and small delegations that may find it difficult to attend additional meetings.

No accountability

These practical developments, however useful, sit in the uncomfortable shadows of the real issues at hand. In particular, civil society was troubled by the silence on civilian casualties in Yemen, as some states deftly sidestepped direct confrontation over issues of ATT implementation and compliance. Article 17.4.a of the ATT text asks that the conference of states parties “review the implementation of the Treaty.” However, big exporting states focused their plenary statements away from the soundness of their risk assessment processes and onto more nebulous issues such as universalisation, tacitly creating an illusion of their incontrovertible commitment to the Treaty. In fact, the burden of proving political commitment to the ATT fell to those states that typically require international assistance or that had newly acceded to the Treaty. It is clear which state agendas dictate the order of the day.

Unhappy proof of this lies in the fate of paragraph 34 of the final conference document. Paragraph 34 made reference to Peru’s emphasis on synergies between the work of the ATT Secretariat and the UN Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights, specifically regarding Human Rights Council resolution 32/12 of July 2016, which includes a mandate to report on the “impact of arms transfers on human rights.” This was the only mention in the report that recalled states parties’ human rights obligations in regards to arms transfers. The protest against this paragraph took many forms, from objecting to misrepresentative language around regional Latin American support, to arguing that this suggestion did not occupy sufficient time during the plenaries to merit a citation in the report. Eventually it was expunged from the record. Amazingly, states parties could agree that their attention to human rights concerns during CSP2 had not been notable.

sectionsgeneva
WILPF sections from Spain, Colombia, Cameroon and Sweden meet with Ivor Fung (UNSCAR) as they prepare for CSP2 at the Geneva office.

Future advocacy

What this conference has taught us, perhaps unsurprisingly, is that there is work to be done to ensure that the ATT is mobilised to fulfil its stated purpose of reducing human suffering. During the plenaries, the disconnect between promise and practice was captured neatly in the statements made by civil society representatives versus state delegates. If nothing else, we have clarity on what the issues are when it comes to states in dialogue with each other, and must continue to demand that states parties use ATT meetings to challenge and condemn those transfers that violate the Treaty. We must ensure that the working groups do not become a means of entirely exporting the meaningful substance of the ATT out of conferences of states parties. Furthermore, states should not have the opportunity to use lengthy debates on procedural and organisational matters to procrastinate or preclude engagement with the actual analysis of Treaty violations.

Share the post

Your donation isn’t just a financial transaction; it’s a step toward a more compassionate and equitable world. With your support, we’re poised to achieve lasting change that echoes through generations. Thank you!

Thank you!

Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris facilisis luctus rhoncus. Praesent eget tellus sit amet enim consectetur condimentum et vel ante. Nulla facilisi. Suspendisse et nunc sem. Vivamus ullamcorper vestibulum neque, a interdum nisl accumsan ac. Cras ut condimentum turpis. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Curabitur efficitur gravida ipsum, quis ultricies erat iaculis pellentesque. Nulla congue iaculis feugiat. Suspendisse euismod congue ultricies. Sed blandit neque in libero ultricies aliquam. Donec euismod eget diam vitae vehicula. Fusce hendrerit purus leo. Aenean malesuada, ante eu aliquet mollis, diam erat suscipit eros, in.

Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.

Skip to content