On behalf of 15 Asian and African non-governmental organisations (NGOs), WREP welcomes the decision at the 4th Conference of States Parties (CSP4) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to entrust administration of the ATT sponsorship programme to the ATT Secretariat from CSP4.
Our members have been closely involved in supporting the establishment of the Arms Trade Treaty since 2000 and continue to support the universalization and implementation of the Treaty globally, especially in critical regions where attention, representation and assistance are most required.
What was unfortunate about CSP4 was that it lacked an appropriate mechanism to ensure participation by a diverse range of relevant civil society experts from the global south. Only one civil society member from the South-East Asian region was sponsored through the formal sponsorship programme — no other civil society representative from the region obtained any other sponsorship, despite the Conference being the first CSP held in Asia.
WREP remains committed to advocating for inclusive civil society participation in international arms control processes, particularly for organisations from the global south whose communities are most affected by the unregulated trade in conventional arms.