Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu
Dogara, has called for the enactment of laws which would combat the
proliferation of small arms across the West African sub region. He also
identified the high rate of youth unemployment and its attendant consequences –
such as mercenary trading, insurgency and illegal mining – as contributory
factors.
This, he said, while giving opening remarks at the
Parliamentary Conference on Containment of Small Arms Proliferation and
Terrorist Financing in ECOWAS, which held in Abuja on Thursday.
The Speaker, who made reference to a report of the United
Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime which described West Africa as paradise for
organised crime due to weak borders , corruption and other such factors, also
lamented the adverse effect of widespread insecurity on efforts towards meeting
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The sub-region has suffered from intra- and inter-communal
feuds, local wars, armed insurrections, armed rebel activities and terrorism,
all of which have led to the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons
(SALW). Small arms and light weapons are dangerous tools of violence in West
Africa for obvious reasons. Small arms are durable, highly portable, easily
concealed, simple to use, extremely lethal and possess legitimate military,
police and civilian uses. In addition, the weapons are lightweight and so are
used by child soldiers, who play a significant role in most crises afflicting
the sub-region.”
“As legislators, one area we need to address our minds to is
the enactment of laws making gun possession difficult. It has been observed
that during conflicts, some ECOWAS Member States liberalized laws on gun
possession in order to stimulate gun possession by civilians. Arms were
directly distributed to paramilitary groups by governments in order to fight
rebel forces. In addition, gun possession legislation was liberalized. This
development, therefore, enhanced diffusion of small arms in the sub-region.
However, after conflicts, small arms are recycled for use in new conflicts and
crimes at home, or sold to other West African countries for use in new
conflicts or to prolong ongoing conflicts.”
The Speaker stated that the current situation is in direct
contravention of a Declaration on a Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation
and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa which was
adopted by the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on 31
October 1998, and became a legally binding and permanent convention in June
2006. He identified youth unemployment and the resultant trade of mercenaries
as one of the factors responsible for this.
“Eleven years after the adoption of the Convention in 2006,
the issue of containment of small arms proliferation remains a challenge. It is
unfortunate to note that there is a thriving trade of mercenaries in West
Africa, aiding the circulation and proliferation of small arms in the region,
especially along the
Sahel area. Levels of youth unemployment are high and there
are many able-bodied, disgruntled persons available, ready and willing to be
trained and armed to fight. Some of the youth who do not serve as mercenaries
illegally migrate to Europe through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean
Sea. Some of the West African youth are currently trapped in Libya where slave
trade business thrives. Still on small arms proliferation, illicit mining, oil
bunkering and insurgency are also responsible for enhanced diffusion of small
arms and light weapons in the sub-region.”
He further highlighted the link between terrorist financing
and the proliferation of small arms, and stressed the need for all parliaments
to ratify the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their
Ammunition and Other Related Materials.
“A related issue that aids proliferation of small arms and
light weapons within ECOWAS is terrorist financing. The March 2017 report from
Global Financial Integrity, Transnational Crime and the Developing World, notes
that transnational crime is a global business. It is valued at an average of
$1.6 trillion to $2.2 trillion annually, out of which Small Arms & Light
Weapons Trafficking accounts for $1.7 billion to $3.5 billion annually. Other
illicit activities include counterfeiting ($923 billion to $1.13 trillion) and
drug trafficking ($426 billion to $652 billion). It is worth noting that
revenues from transnational crime finance violence, corruption, and other
abuses. Very rarely do the revenues from transnational crime have any long-term
benefits to citizens, communities, or economies of the sub-region. Instead, the
crimes undermine local and national economies, destroy the environment, and
jeopardize the health and wellbeing of the public.”
“As Members of Parliament, we need to ensure that our
national parliaments ratify the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light
Weapons, Their Ammunition and Other Related Materials. I am happy to report
that as at 10 November 2017, thirteen out of the fifteen Member States of ECOWAS
had ratified the Convention. I call on the remaining two ECOWAS Member States
(The Gambia and Liberia) to accelerate the ratification of the Convention.
Beyond ratification, I call on national parliaments to ensure the domestication
of the convention into their national laws.”
In order to effectively combat the proliferation of small
arms and terrorist financing, the Speaker suggested legislative interventions
which will require that registered companies doing business within an ECOWAS
Member State declare the names of ultimate beneficial owners, flag financial
and trade transactions involving individuals and corporations in secrecy
jurisdictions as high-risk and require extra documentation; scrutinize import
and export invoices for signs of misinvoicing, which may indicate technical or
physical smuggling; and share more information between agencies and departments
on the illicit markets and actors that exist within a country’s borders.
He also reiterated the commitment of the National Assembly
to working with other stakeholders to enhance security in West Africa.
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