ECOWAS, UN Step Up Collaboration On Disarmament to Tackle New Security Threats
In an era where security threats are evolving as fast as technology itself, regional and global actors are racing to adapt.
From 5–7 August 2025, Mr Adedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations, visited the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja to explore fresh avenues of cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).
The visit centred on updating the 2009 ECOWAS–UNODA memorandum of understanding to respond to emerging dangers such as arms trafficking, improvised explosive devices, autonomous weapons and the misuse of new technologies.
Both organisations also convened a regional workshop to strengthen gender mainstreaming in small arms control across West Africa.
In a joint commitment, ECOWAS and UNODA pledged to bolster the implementation of the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, revise its legal framework to meet today’s realities, and weave disarmament more deeply into peacebuilding and sustainable development strategies.
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