As part of the “100 Days of Speaking Out!”, a countdown to the treaty negotiations, Control Arms will regularly feature stories and profiles of different people who support a bulletproof ATT
The Caribbean Coalition for Development and the Reduction of Armed Violence (CDRAV) organized the Third Regional Workshop on Negotiations for the ATT, which was held under the auspices of the governments of St. Vincent and The Grenadines, and Australia. This took place on 24-25 May and included approximately forty persons including diplomats and other officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of eleven CARICOM Member States; the CARICOM Secretariat; CARICOM IMPACS; customs officials and civil society.
Ms. Nelcia Robinson-Hazell provided a civil society response to the Chair’s Draft Paper. “CDRAV has supported the ATT process from the onset and firmly believes that the Treaty can provide clear standards for the regulation of the international arms trade. CDRAV also completely supports a proactive role for CARICOM Member States towards the realization of this goal. CDRAV is confident that the Caribbean delegation to the Diplomatic Conference will pursue a strong and robust Treaty which can minimize the deleterious effects of armed violence in our societies.”
One of the major outcomes of the workshop was the assignment of roles and responsibilities ahead of the July conference. The Lead Negotiator for the region on delegations to do appropriate research and liaise with CDRAV for support where necessary, thus reinforcing the close relationship between government and civil society in the region.
CDRAV is pleased that a clear and comprehensive strategy on the way forward was agreed by CARICOM Member States at the workshop. They are encouraged that CARICOM Member States have endorsed the position that an effective treaty for the region must encompass the regulation and transparent trade in all conventional weapons including small arms and light weapons and ammunition.
