ECOWAS Commission Launches Efforts To Counter Proliferation Of Illicit Weapons

The ECOWAS Commission has vowed to do everything within its reach to ensure that it tackles the proliferation of small arms and light weapons flooding the region.

At a virtual zoom of annual coordination meeting of National Commissions on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NATCOMs), which rounded off on Thursday in Accra, Ghana, Head of Small Arms Division of ECOWA, Joseph Ahoba, stated that discussions at the meeting would address the growing concerns on the proliferation and misuse of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW).

He also expressed concern over the rising threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and increasing craft weapons production in the region.

The meeting, organised to facilitate sharing of national experiences, reviewed and validated key regional instruments, and explored strategies to bolster SALW control measures across the ECOWAS region.

Discussions at the forum focused on the Draft Regional Strategy on Countering IEDs, the Study and Guideline on the Control of Craft Weapons Production, and approaches to standardising the implementation of the ECOWAS Convention on SALW.

Also speaking at the forum, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, highlighted the escalating security challenges in the region and stressed the urgent need for stronger national and regional coordination on arms control.

Participants at the forum indicated interest to review and validate the Regional Strategy on Countering IEDs and the Study and Guideline on the Control of Craft Weapons Production.

Ghana’s representative, Dr. Adamu Alhassan Bonaa, expressed appreciation to the ECOWAS Commission for convening the meeting, emphasising its timeliness given the alarming rise of illicit weapons in the ECOWAS region.

He highlighted Ghana’s recent Amnesty Programme, designed to encourage individuals to surrender illicit weapons, as a key initiative in addressing the country’s growing concerns about armed violence.