Mr Baffour Dokyi Amoa, President of West African Action Network for Small Arms (WAANSA) on Friday said collaboration with civil society was crucial to augment efforts of West African Governments to prevent the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the Sub-Region.

He said the challenge to combat accumulation of such weapons was not on the implementation of legislations but on how civil society would respect legal instruments and support security agencies.

Mr Dokyi Amoa made the observation when briefing the media on ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their ammunition and related matters in Accra.

He said society must therefore be concerned on the issue, since they were the worse victims when accumulation of such weapons was on the increase.

Colonel Mahamane Toure, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, and leader of a five-member team from ECOWAS Commission said the team was in Ghana on a three-day advocacy mission towards the ratification of the ECOWAS Convention.

He said the Convention was to reduce the incidence of violence and conflicts that had been blamed for the crises in the region to facilitate economic development in West Africa.

Col. Toure said the Convention, which had been ratified by only Niger, would also promote trust between member states through concerted and transparent action on the control of small arms and build institutional capacities to curb their proliferation.

He said the legislation expected to be ratified by nine member countries within ECOWAS, would consolidate the gains of the Declaration of the Moratorium on the importation, exportation and manufacture of arms and its Code of Conduct.

Col. Toure said the Convention would encourage local manufacturers of weapons to revert into alternative livelihood ventures such as the manufacturing of agriculture inputs.

Mrs Afi Yakubu, Coordinator for Ghana Action Network on Small Arms (GHANSA) said Ghana was active in spearheading the fight against small arms with the establishment of the National Commission on Small Arms.

She said although there was the need for countries to respect ECOWAS protocols in respect to the movement of people and trade, there was the need to strengthen security to check the importation of such weapons to engage in crimes.

Mrs Yakubu said to forestall difficulties in tracing local manufacturers and importers of such weapons, the Commission had developed an action plan to easily trace them.

The Convention endorsed by ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments has provisions on Operational Mechanisms; Institutional and Implementation Arrangements; Transparency and Exchange of Information, Transfer and Manufacturing of Small Arms.

It was adopted on June 14, 2006 in Abuja, Nigeria.

Source: GNA