ECOWAS: Arms proliferation is a big threat to democracy, stability in West Africa

ECOWAS: Arms proliferation is a big threat to democracy, stability in West Africa

- ECOWAS has described arms proliferation as a big threat to democracy and stability in West Africa

- It blamed electoral violence particularly in Nigeria and other West African countries to illegal arms manufacturers

- The ECOWAS, however, called for urgent measures to tackle the menace

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has identified the proliferation of illicit arms as a major threat to democracy, stability and peace in West Africa.

This Day reports that the regional body, which made the submission in a report on the study of gender mainstreaming in the peace and security architecture of ECOWAS (Small arms and light weapons control component) at a workshop in Abuja on Friday, July 27, blamed electoral violence particularly in Nigeria and other West African countries to illegal arms manufacturers whose work, it said, contributes to the illegal possession and circulation of weapons in the hands of civilians.

Legit.ng gathered that the study revealed that factors such as intra-state conflict, electoral and political violence, terrorism and drug trafficking posed a grave threat to political stability in West African countries.

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The ECOWAS report, which identified the non-application of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), lack of programme on small and light weapons, porous borders and increased and uncontrolled arms trafficking for the illegal proliferation of small and light weapons in West Africa, however, called for urgent measures to tackle the menace.

“The proliferation and use of small arms has varying impact on men, women, boys and girls. While men and boys constitute the majority of users of small arms, women and girls are the victims, particularly during armed conflicts.

“United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/Res/65/69 on women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control emphasises that the involvement of men and women on the basis of equality and equity is crucial for lasting peace and security,” the report said.

It added that both national and international instruments adopted in small arms were not well known by the security forces, especially civilians.

It further observed that banditry in towns and villages is increasingly rampant, thus creating a sense of insecurity among the population and justifying the use of weapons by certain communities for self protection.

To address the identified challenges, the report recommended raising of awareness on the harmful effect of the abusive use of small and light weapons and the need for gender mainstreaming in all projects and programmes, among other things.

“The uncontrolled proliferation of weapons particularly light weapons has extensive tragic consequences on the female gender, consequently, with the growing concerns across the countries of the sub-region, the armed forces cannot be left to tackle the phenomenon alone,” it added.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that President, on Monday, July 30, would attend the Joint ECOWAS/ECCAS summit which will deliberate on common security threats to countries in West Africa and members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

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Source: Legit.ng

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