Accra, July 19, GNA - A five-member ECOWAS sensitization team is in Accra on a three-day advocacy mission towards the ratification of the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and Related Matters.
The leader of the team, Col. Mahamane Toure, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, told the Ghana News Agency they will hold consultations with stakeholders in government including The Presidency, the National Assembly, civil society and the media to find ways of fast-tracking the ratification of the Convention by the National Assembly.
Other members are General Charles Okae, director peace and security, Mr. Roger Laloupo, ECOWAS Director of Legal Affairs, Dr. Cyriaque Agnekethom, Head of Small Arms Unit and Mr. Sunny Ugoh, Principal Programme Officer in the Department of Communication of the ECOWAS Commission.
Members already met with the national Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the Ministry of National Security and the Defence Ministry.
The campaign against the proliferation of SALW is aimed at reducing the incidences of violence and conflicts, which has been blamed for the crises in the region, in order to facilitate the economic development of West Africa. Ratification by nine of the 15 Member States is required before the Convention can come into force. Meanwhile, a number of Member States have expressed commitment to ratifying the document, which has so far been ratified by Niger, Col. Toure said.
He said the Convention would encourage local manufacturers of weapons to revert into alternative livelihood ventures such as the manufacturing of agriculture inputs.
The convention, which was signed by Heads of State and Governments in Abuja on June 14, 2006, will replace the moratorium on the exportation and manufacturing of small arms and light weapons, the only existing regional framework for preventing the proliferation of arms in the region.
