The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening responsible arms transfer controls and preventing the proliferation and illicit circulation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) across the region.
In a statement on the ECOWAS website, the commitment was made at the completion of a three-day In-Country Training of National Focal Persons on the exemption procedure to the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons held in Accra, Ghana.
The event organised by the Small Arms Division of the ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with the National Commission on Small Arms of Ghana, the three-day training, brought together officials from key national institutions with mandates relating to the acquisition, procurement, importation, transfer, regulation, authorisation and oversight of arms and ammunition.
The commission said that the Exemption Procedure constitutes an important component of the ECOWAS regional architecture for preventing the uncontrolled
proliferation, diversion and illicit circulation of SALW.
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“The initiative sought to deepen national understanding of ECOWAS. Exemption procedure and strengthened coordination among institutions responsible for its implementation.”
The commission also explained that the we training provided an important platform for reviewing the status of implementation of the ECOWAS Exemption Procedure in Ghana identifying implementation challenges and exploring measures to strengthen the effectiveness of the process.
“It enhanced participants’ knowledge of the ECOWAS regional arms transfer regime,
the application process for the ECOWAS Exemption Certificate, the use of relevant documentation and the respective roles of national institutions in preventing the diversion and illicit circulation of arms and ammunition.”
Practical simulation and scenario-building
Exercises during the training enabled participants to apply the knowledge acquired by preparing documentation and working through simulated applications for the ECOWAS Exemption Certificate.
The activity contributes to the broader efforts of the ECOWAS Commission to strengthen responsible arms transfer controls, enhance
national implementation of the ECOWAS Convention and support for Member States in addressing the proliferation and illicit circulation of small arms and light weapons.
