The ECOWAS Commission and the heads of national commissions (COMNAT) for the fight against small arms and light weapons (SALW) of ECOWAS member states met from January 30 to February 2, during a regional workshop for the establishment of a national control list for the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty in ECOWAS Member States in Lomé the capital of the Togolese Republic.The main objective of the workshop was to establish a harmonized national control list for the effective implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty among ECOWAS Member States.

In addition to government representatives, this workshop was marked by the participation of various ECOWAS partner organizations such as UNIDIR, UNREC, Expertise France, Saferworld, Halo Trust and GIZ who shared their experience in the field of SALW control.

During the opening ceremony, Dr. Jiaming Miao, the Deputy Director of UNREC commended the ECOWAS Commission and the National Commissions on Small Arms of ECOWAS Member States for their sustained interventions, in promoting disarmament and arms control in the region, despite numerous operational constraints they face and expressed the assurance that UNREC will continue to assist the ECOWAS region to meet its obligations under the ATT and the ECOWAS Convention.

The Director of the ATT Secretary, Mr. Dladla Dumisani, in his statements, stressed that the Secretariat remains committed to supporting the two core priorities of the ATT, namely the universalization of the Treaty and the implementation effective implementation of Treaty obligations at the national level.

In his address, the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the ECOWAS Commission, Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah, represented at the ceremony by Dr. Sani Adamu, Programme Officer, Disarmament and Arms Control thanked the Togolese Government for the warm welcome.

He underlined that the ECOWAS Commission is working assiduously towards ensuring global best practices and standards are in place in our Member States for arms control and management.

The statement distributed by the APO Group on behalf of ECOWAS, said that
the Vice-President of the COMNAT of the Togolese Republic, Mr. Inoussa Bouraima, before declaring the ceremony open, stressed that the ATT is indeed an essential instrument that provides a transparent mechanism to regulate the global transfer of conventional arms and prevent their illicit traffic and their diversion.

Mr. Innousa further highlighted the importance of a national checklist and urged the workshop to come up with proposals that will set the benchmark for the development of a national checklist for effective ATT implementation in the ECOWAS region.