Parliament urged to endorse Arms Trade TreatyParliament urged to endorse Arms Trade Treaty

Elmina (C/R), Jan.17, GNA - Colonel Seth Ohene Asare, Chairman, Ghana National Commission on Small Arms (NACSA) has pressed on parliament to endorse the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to ensure safety in Ghana.According to Col. Asare, about 90 per cent of weapons used in crime scenes were locally manufactured, whilst illicit trade thrived because the weapons were sold across borders and this, he said, raised cause for concern.He made the call when he chaired the opening ceremony of the planning meeting for the ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region.The two-day workshop attended by representatives from the ECOWAS region including the Gambia, Ghana, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Togo and Benin was sponsored by the British Government.Col. Asare said the safety of citizens was paramount to every country and therefore the law making body of Ghana must ratify the treaty since smuggling of small arms into the country and its misuse was a threat to national security.Currently, between 250,000 to 500,000 small arms and light weapons are in circulation in the country.He said to ensure the total eradication of these arms, government must resource the NACSA to enable it to intensify its sensitization and educational campaigns to fight the illegal manufacturing of such arms.Col. Asare commended the ECOWAS, West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), the Kofi Anann International Peacekeeping and Training Centre (KAIPTIC), the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament (UNREC), the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC), for their collaboration to eradicate the spread of small arms and weapons.Dr Kwesi Enning, Dean of Research at KAIPTIC said it would take the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders to eradicate the illegal manufacturing and the circulation of small arms and light weapons.Mr Baffour Dokyi Amoa, President of WAANSA commended the Ghana Police Service for their vigilance and alertness in combating illicit weapons, adding that, even though the war against smuggling and misuse of small arms was gradually reducing, more efforts must be made to eradicate it entirely.The Arms Trade Treaty is a United Nations multilateral agreement that regulates the international trade in conventional weapons, including small arms, battle tanks, combat aircraft and warship, aimed at preventing arms-flow to conflict regions.GNA Read Full Story