The Inter-Parliamentary Union, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND), the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and the World Future Council (WFC) are co-organizing a webinar on Parliamentary action on disarmament to support public health, peace and economic sustainability in relation to pandemic prevention, management and mitigation. Although Disarmament is usually considered to be a security issue, it is equally relevant as a health issue.

The world is slowly recovering from a global pandemic. Nations independently tackled the crisis as best they could, yet countries that prioritized health systems over military expenditures consistently performed better. Weapons testing, trade and use impact considerably people’s lives and wellbeing, killing or severely injuring hundreds of thousands of people annually. In addition, the high levels of human and economic resources invested in weapons deprive health and social systems of the resources needed for resilience and universality.

This webinar will make use of the recent events to investigate the role of disarmament in public health, assessing the roles and opportunities that parliamentarians have in using disarmament to the benefit of public health policies. Leaning on recommendations made in the publication Assuring our Common Future, this webinar will provide expert perspectives on good practices relating to disarmament and public health.

The webinar will take place in two sittings to suit participants in different time zones. While sitting A will be in English only, the working languages of Sitting B will be English, French and Spanish. It will take place on Zoom.

Registration links

For Sitting A: 9 November 2021 - 7:00 – 8:30 CET - Timed to suit participants Asia and the Pacific/Oceania – Event in English only

For Sitting B: 10 November 2021 - 16.00 – 17:30 CET - Timed to suit participants from the Americas, Africa and Europe – Event in English, French and Spanish