New York, 02 April 2013

Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) President and Assistant Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, Ross Robertson MP has welcomed the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty at the UN General Assembly in New York earlier today, aimed at toughening up standards around the transfer and export of conventional weapons to countries and regions in conflict and vulnerable to conflict where such weapons may be misused.

“While the ATT agreement may not contain everything that we had hoped for, treaty making is ultimately a process of compromise. With commitment and dedication from all, the ATT will save many, many lives. I applaud the UN Member States that have contributed to the establishment of the Arms Trade Treaty, as well as so many of our PGA members who have worked tirelessly in advocating for this Treaty over the past three years.

The next stage of the campaign will be mobilization of PGA MPs worldwide, as well as many other MPs with whom our Members work, to advocate for signature and ratification of the ATT by their respective countries, to ensure that it enters into force within the shortest time frame possible. 50 countries must ratify the Treaty before it can enter into force. PGA will now devote itself to achieving this objective as speedily as possible and, thereafter, achieving ratifications in all remaining countries that were not among the initial group of 50 - to ensure the ATT’s lasting universality. PGA will also work with its members and colleague parliamentarians around the world to draft the legislation necessary to implement the ATT in their respective countries”.

Requests for further information on PGA’s Global Campaign for Signature and Ratification of the ATT may be addressed to Peter Barcroft, Director of Projects (PGA) at

The Control Arms Global Parliamentary Declaration on the Arms Trade Treaty may be viewed here.