During his meeting in Nigeria's federal capital city Abuja with the President of the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), Dr. Baffour Amoah, the E COWAS boss described the organisations as important partners at the grassroots i n not only the campaign for ratification but in the effort to implement the Conv e ntion.
Five member states have so far ratified the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and Other Related Materials adopted by Heads of S tate and Government during their 2006 mid-year Summit in Abuja.
Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone and Senegal have so far ratified the Con vention.
Eight ratifications are required to make the Convention operational.
Once operational, the Convention will replace the former Moratorium on the Expor tation, Importation and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons as the regio n al instrument to regulate the proliferation of such arms in the region.
Earlier, Dr. Amoah had said that WAANSA was working to network the civil society organisations involved in this area in the region to ensure better coordination of efforts and for greater effectiveness.
He said WAANSA would require the financial support of the ECOWAS Commission to e nable it sustain its activities and suggested that the network should be funded i n the same way as the National Commissions which are supported by the ECOWAS Sma l l Arms Control Programme (ECOSAP).
Lagos - 15/05/2008
Pana
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