Insecurity: ECOWAS moves to stop illicit flow of small arms, light weapons

By Linus Aleke
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has taken steps to curtail the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons, as part of measures to tackle security challenges in the West African sub-region.

The ECOWAS Commission in a statement on Monday, said, government experts from the sub-region met in Niamey, Niger Republic to review and validate the draft report of the study and operational guidelines for the regulation of arms brokering activities to operationalize Article 20 of the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), in relation to arms brokering.

The multi-stakeholder meeting, the statement said, was organized by ECOWAS Commission in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies (BICC), with funding from European Union (EU), and Germany.

During the discussions, experts from Member States shared data and their experiences on the legal and administrative mechanisms in place in their respective countries for the regulation of arms brokering.

The Commission noted that the establishment of arms brokering controls is a major step towards blocking unauthorized illicit arms transfers.

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The President of the National Commission for the Collection and Control of Illicit Weapons (CNCCAI) of Niger, Brigadier General Maiga Mamadou Youssoufa said, the meeting will contribute to the development of a regional operational guide on arms brokering.

The Commissioner, Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, ECOWAS Commission, said, the validation of this guide will strengthen the mastery of brokers at the national and regional level so that a systematic follow-up of orders of illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW) is carried out from their point of manufacture or importation to the last holder.

Represented by Head of the Small Arms Division, Mr Ahoba Piex Joseph, the Commissioner recalled that effective control of SALW contributes to the strengthening of peace, security, stability, and the collective development of ECOWAS Member States.

He concluded that the meeting was an assurance that the objective set in the Article 20 of the ECOWAS Convention on SALW will be achieved.

The meeting which was chaired by Guinea Bissau, saw the participation of the following Member States, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.