Latvia champions women’s leadership in the Arms Trade Treaty implementation

On 29–30 January in Geneva, Latvia in partnership with the Geneva-based non-governmental organization Control Arms, is organising a two-day in-person workshop for female diplomats as part of the project “Building Capacity for ATT Implementation: A Dual Approach to Training and Leadership Development.”

The project aims to promote gender equality and strengthen women’s representation and leadership in the field of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) through two complementary components: a tailored in-person workshop for female diplomats and the development of a free, self-paced online training programme accessible to a broad international audience.

The two-day workshop is bringing together female diplomats from all ATT States parties and is focusing on the ATT implementation, the ATT risk assessment and gender-based violence, including the criteria under Articles 6 and 7 of the ATT. The workshop aims to equip its participants with the skills, confidence and networks needed to engage actively in the ATT processes and to lead on its implementation. The training also addresses knowledge gaps while supporting commitments made by the State Parties to the ATT to promote gender representation and mainstreaming within ATT forums, which has been a persistent challenge among diplomats and government officials.

Complementing the in-person training, a self-paced online course hosted on the UNODA Disarmament Education Dashboard will provide government officials worldwide with flexible, high-quality training on the ATT. The course will be open to officials from all UN Member States with a particular focus on small and developing States parties facing resource or technical constraints, as well as States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the ATT, but are considering doing so. The English-language course will be translated into Arabic, French, and Spanish to ensure broad accessibility.

The project is funded by the ATT Voluntary Trust Fund (VTF).

Through this project, Latvia reaffirms its commitment to gender equality, capacity building and the effective implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty.

Background information

Arms Trade Treaty

The Arms Trade Treaty is based on Article 26 of the Charter of the United Nations which seeks to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security and reduce illicit trade in arms. The ATT establishes the highest possible common international standards for the international trade in conventional arms.

The ATT was signed in 2013, and Latvia was one of the signatories. In 2019, Latvia became the first Eastern European country to chair the ATT on a voluntary basis. Latvia is currently represented on the ATT Steering Committee and on the Board of the Voluntary Trust Fund. 116 countries from all continents have already joined the ATT.