Talking points for Mr. Roy Trivedy: In-country Training Programme on Gender-Mainstreaming Small Arms Control in Dili

10-12 May 2022

Sr Licínio Branco, Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation,

Ms. Soo Hyun Kim, Acting Director, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific,

Excellency Mr. Andrew Jacobs, Ambassador, the European Union Delegation to Timor-Leste,

Ms. Nishtha Satyam, Head of Office, UN Women,

Dear Colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and line ministries,

Dear participants,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Very good morning to all of you,

It is indeed a pleasure that we have gathered here today with the support of the European Union, United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, development partners, and UN TimorLeste for this workshop.

The two-day training seeks to contribute to peace, security, gender equality and sustainable development by enhancing the effectiveness of small arms control by promoting a gender-responsive framework in Timor-Leste.

United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament, also known as UNRCPD, has been supporting Timor-Leste since 2018. This is the third UNRPCD initiative engaging stakeholders from Timor-Leste and conducting activities in Dili. From 2018 to 2020, a delegation composed of parliamentarians and civil society attended the workshop series from Timor-Leste on gun violence and illicit small arms trafficking from a gender perspective, consisting of four major events in Asia-Pacific. In February 2020, UNRCPD and the government also concluded a Technical and Legal Assistance project to enhance the implementation of the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UN PoA) and accede the Arms Trade Treaty.

Today’s training is part of UNRCPD’s regional project in Asia-Pacific by conducting in-country training programmes on gender and small arms control by engaging with government officials, parliamentarians and civil society. Through face-to-face trainings, online seminars and hybrid workshops, the Centre has already trained 117 officials and civil society representatives, including 63 women participants, from Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea.

Dear Colleagues,

Advancing gender mainstreaming in small arms control in Timor-Leste will directly contribute to eliminating all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls. Securing weapons and reducing their circulation removes a frequent choice of weapons used for domestic and gender-based violence and femicide.

United Nations agenda on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) is one of our top priorities. Very recently the Secretary-General expressed the need to better integrate small arms and light weapons considerations into the women and peace and security agenda and to synchronize national action plans on small arms and light weapons with those on women and peace and security.

In addition, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Declaration form a strong normative basis for connecting the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and the small arms control agendas. The European Union and UN’s flagship Spotlight Initiative globally and in Timor-Leste has further highlighted the urgency to eliminate violence against women and girls.

Past examples of collaboration between UNRCPD, European Union, UN agencies, and other development partners, including JICA and KOIKA, in the framework of the project activities have proven the value of coordinated efforts to bring together subject matter experts from the converging agendas of conventional arms control, Women, Peace and Security, and Sustainable Development.

I am sure that this one and future collaborations will result in fruitful reflections, discussions, and joint actions to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG) and control the spread of small arms.

I thank you, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.