Dos dels temes als quals porto anys dedicant especial atenció són el (Des)Control del Comerç d'Armes i la violència contra les dones, especialment en contextos de conflictes armats. Ambdós, però, es troben altament relacionats tal i com va posar de manifest un seminari organitzat recentment a Brussel.les i el qual m'ha servit per reiterar, un cop més, la importància del Tractat Internacional sobre Transferències d'Armaments, aquest cop en relació a´la violència que sovint s'exerceix contra les dones en conflictes armats (els quals alimentem amb les nostres armes). La pregunta, dirigida a la Comissió Europea, diu així: 

Written Question by Raül Romeva i Rueda to the European Comission on the Links between the Arms Trade Treaty and sexual violence in the DRC

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), over 8,000 women were raped in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congolast year.  Although the Hutu rebel militia known as the Forces démocratiques de libération is largely responsible for the rapes, says the UN agency, the national army (FARDC) is also known to have committed sexual abuse in North and South Kivuprovinces.

Combating impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence is clearly imperative, and according to Bibiane Aningina Tschefu, a representative of a peace initiative known as Women as Partners for Peace in Africa, what's also critical for protecting women in the DRC from sexual violence is the negotiation of an Arms Trade Treaty that prohibits the international transfers of weapons and ammunition in places where there exists a significant risk of sexual and gender-based violence and of human rights violations.  In other words, the international community must play a greater role in recognizing and addressing how our presently flawed arms trade exacerbates sexual violence in conflict zones.

On February 11, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), in concert with the EU, held an international forum in Viennaon the topic of the proposed Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).  Following this event, how much progress has been made, in the Commission's opinion, towards the negotiation of such a treaty?  What specific role is the EU playing in this process?  Furthermore, what measures will the Commission take to ensure that an ATT includes the necessary mechanisms to protect victims of sexual violence?  Finally, to what extent does the Common Position 2008/944/CSFSP, the EU's current instrument used to assess export control standards, provide such mechanisms?