ECOWAS Mobilizes To Improve Implementation Of Arms Trade Treaty
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
The ECOWAS Commission and the heads of national commissions (COMNAT) for the fight against Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) of ECOWAS member states have met in Lomé the capital of the Togolese Republic for the establishment of a national control list for the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty in ECOWAS Member States.
The main objective of the regional workshop was to establish a harmonized national control list for the effective implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty among ECOWAS Member States.
The meeting was attended by government representatives, and various ECOWAS partner organizations such as UNIDIR, UNREC, Expertise France, Saferworld, Halo Trust and GIZ who shared their experience in the field of SALW control.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Deputy Director of UNREC, Dr. Jiaming Miao, commended the ECOWAS Commission and the National Commissions on Small Arms of ECOWAS Member States for their sustained interventions, in promoting disarmament and arms control in the region, despite the numerous operational constraints they face and assured them that UNREC will continue to assist the ECOWAS region to meet its obligations under the ATT and the ECOWAS Convention.
The Director of the ATT Secretarait, Mr. Dladla Dumisani, on his part, stressed that the Secretariat remains committed to supporting the two core priorities of the ATT, which include the universalization of the Treaty and the implementation effective implementation of Treaty obligations at the national level.
The Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the ECOWAS Commission, Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah, represented at the ceremony by Dr. Sani Adamu, Programme Officer, Disarmament and Arms Control, while commending the Togolese Government for the warm welcome, underlined that the ECOWAS Commission is working assiduously towards ensuring global best practices and that standards are in place in member states for arms control and management while the Vice-President of the COMNAT of the Togolese Republic, Mr. Inoussa Bouraima, who declared the ceremony open, stressed that the ATT is indeed an essential instrument that provides a transparent mechanism to regulate the global transfer of conventional arms and prevent their illicit traffic and their diversion.
Mr. Innousa further highlighted the importance of a national checklist and urged the workshop to come up with proposals that will set the benchmark for the development of a national checklist for effective ATT implementation. in the ECOWAS region.
