Training on Gender-Mainstreaming Small Arms Control and Contribution to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Nepal
Kathmandu, Nepal, 08 April 2022 – In collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and Pacific (UNRCPD) hosted a three-day training on Gender Mainstreaming Small Arms Control and contribution to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda. The training, held at the Club Himalaya Hotel in Nagarkot from 6 to 8 April 2022, followed on the recommendations of the National workshop to promote the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and support Nepal’s accession to the Treaty, which took place from 25 to 25 November 2021.
The three-day training brought together thirty-five participants (24 women, 12 men) consisting of government officials, parliamentarians, military and security personnel, civil society organizations, and key UN agencies, such as UN Women, UNODC, and the UN Resident Coordinator Office.
Through thematic presentations by the United Nations experts and participants including government officials, and civil society representatives, practical exercises and panel discussions, the training served as an inclusive platform for action-oriented dialogue and experience sharing on unsolved peace and security issues in Nepal. In particular, alignment of small arms control and their gender implications (gender-based violence, harmful practices, and the nexus with development and human rights), gender equality/equity in the security and defense sector, and effective implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 on WPS and resolution 1820 on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) among others.
The training raised awareness of the importance of coordinated data collection, disaggregated by sex, age and disabilities, as an indispensable starting point for evidence-based and gender-responsive small arms control policies, programmes and legislations, in line with the UN Programme on Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
As part of the concluding exercise, government officials, parliamentarians, and civil society stressed the importance for Nepal to accelerate the validation of the draft National Action Plan (NAP) on UNSCR 1325 and 1820 Phase II and worked together to draft a series of action points to integrate small arms issues in the implementation of NAP Phase II. This resulted in the drafting of an outcome document that will serve as a policy brief for further work in this area.
The training was funded by the European Union as part of a global project led by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) to support gender mainstreamed policies, programmes and actions in the fight against small arms trafficking and misuse.
To support future discussions, UNRCPD assisted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the translations from EN to Nepali of two key modules of MOSAIC, namely the one on the gendered nature of SALW and the one on children, adolescents, youth, and SALW.
For further information, please contact Ms. Ida Scarpino, Regional Project Coordinator at the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) via email: ida.scarpino@un.org.