Tuesday, 16 March 2010

Update Parliamentary Forum on SALW

Dear Friends of the Parliamentary Forum on SALW,



I wish to inform you that the Forum has held its first inter-parliamentary conference for West Africa. The Forum now has several new active and engaged members in the sub region. The meeting was held in Bamako, Mali February 25-26, 2010 and was organised together with:



ECOWAS Small Arms Programme (ECOSAP)

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC)



The first day was mainly dedicated to instruments for SALW control, above all the ECOWAS Convention on SALW, the work of National Commissions and how parliamentarians can be involved in such work. The second day of the conference focused on the role of parliamentarians in enhancing arms control and human security.



The conference was finalized with a closing session centred on discussions in various working groups and a final document was adopted.



This conference will be followed up with a second meeting to be held in Monrovia, Liberia in June.



For more information please visit our website www.parlforum.org



Yours respectfully,



Teresa Dybeck

Programme Officer

Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons

office: +46 (0)8 653 2543 +46 (0)8 653 2543

mobile: +46 (0)70 386 15 45 +46 (0)70 386 15 45

dybeck@parlforum.org

www.parlforum.org