In light of the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers of the First Meeting of the States Parties to the TPNW have made the decision to postpone the Meeting until such a point arises that full participation can be facilitated. Read the statement from Bea Finn, Executive Director of ICAN, below:

“After a series of consultations among the states parties and ICAN as the civil society coordinator, the states parties have taken a decision to postpone the MSP due to ongoing challenges with COVID-19, travel restrictions, UN room limitations etc. It will not take place this March

States had to choose between holding a hybrid meeting with very restricted participation in March and a larger meeting fully inclusive of civil society in the Austrian summer later this year. While it’s not fun to postpone big events, we are actually pleased with the decision because it means we can plan big events, and hopefully get to see many of you in Vienna in person. It was great to see that the decision by states was also driven by the need to ensure an inclusive meeting, and that they wanted to ensure that civil society can partake fully.

• States expect to confirm the new dates within a month.
• ICAN supports this choice and welcomes the commitment to maximize in-person representation of civil society. The TPNW has always been set apart by its inclusiveness. It is vital that the first MSP reflects the global nature of the treaty as well as centering voices of survivors, which would not have been possible in March given the current covid-19 situation.
• We are in close contact with organizers and will let you know the moment new dates are confirmed.

Of course we want this meeting to happen sooner rather than later, but this is a great chance for our campaign to increase the number of States Parties, increase commitments by non-Parties to attend as observers, and strengthen our campaign work for the coming months.“

The update from ICAN can be read here.