These were some of the recommendations emerging from a national consultation held in Honiara last Thursday on the treaty, which aims to create a legally binding international framework to regulate the trade in conventional weapons.
If successful and widely endorsed globally, the treaty, currently being negotiated at the United Nations, will close many of the legal and institutional gaps in one of the least transparent and inconsistently regulated international trades.
Jointly organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade and Oxfam, the workshop invited members of Police, government, NGOs and civil society groups to learn about the treaty and to discuss the priority outcomes that Solomon Islands would like to see emerge from the treaty.
“We want an open forum that invites a wide variety of perspectives, not just those of government”, said George Hoa’au, from the UN, Treaties and Americas Branch of Foreign Affairs and External Trade.
“Although the Solomon Islands Government will be responsible for ratifying an Arms Trade Treaty, the practical elements of dealing with the issue of arms and their impacts lie with many actors, including NGOs and women’s groups.”
In July, Mr Hoa’au and representatives from other Pacific nations will join delegations from around the world for the next round of Arms Trade Treaty negotiations in New York.
Thursday’s workshop recommended coordinating closely with like-minded states to ensure that the concerns of the Pacific region are amplified in the negotiations.
“To be truly effective, the treaty needs the support of all regions of the world”, said Ben Murphy, who coordinates Oxfam’s work on small arms in the Pacific.
“It’s critical that countries in the Pacific, particularly those who have experienced the impacts of armed violence such as Solomon Islands, are able to have their say.”
Lorima Tuke, Oxfam’s Human Security Program Officer, emphasised that the treaty could strengthen national capacity to prevent arms proliferation in the long term.
“Although Solomon Islands is not a major importer or exporter of arms, recent history has shown that a relatively small number of arms can have a devastating impact on security and development.
“While the number of arms currently in country is small, this may change in the future.
“It’s important that Solomon Islands has strong and robust laws and systems in place to ensure that arms are not once again used to fuel conflict and insecurity in our region”.”
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