Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has concluded arrangement to put mechanism in place to tackle the growing insecurity, as well as trafficking of illicit arms in West Africa.
The Directorate of Communication, ECOWAS Commission, in a statement, said mechanism has also been put in place to control the use of arms by non state actors.
To this end, the ECOWAS Commission brought together experts on arms control to chat a way forward for the region, during a work in Abuja.
The objectives of the workshop, the commission said, were to improve the control of weapons held by civilians and to present a guide on the licensing of weapons for civilians in ECOWAS Member States.
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This workshop, it added, was attended by civil society organizations working in the fight against small arms and light weapons (SALW), representatives of the National Commission on SALW (Nat-Com SALW), and staff members of the ECOWAS Commission.
Head of Component for the OCWAR-T project, Mrs. Phidelia Amey, congratulated ECOWAS for its commitment to the fight against SALW and then reaffirmed the availability of her organization to support ECOWAS in its actions.
In his opening remarks, the Deputy Director of UNREC, Dr. Jiaming Miao, commended the efforts of ECOWAS to address the situation of arms trafficking.
Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security of the ECOWAS Commission,
Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah welcomed Participants to the technical experts meeting on Civilian Possession of Arms and Licensing in Abuja.
Represented at the occasion by Head of the Small Arms Division, Mr. Joseph Ahoba, applauded FABA Consulting firm, the EU, and the German Government for their support.
He noted that the proliferation of SALW in the hands of civilians increases the risk of violence.
The Commissioner added that regulating possession of illicit arms can limit the lethality associated with these arms and foster human security.
