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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Micro-Disarmament in West Africa: The ECOWAS Moratorium on Small Arms and Light Weapons |
Author: | Bah, Alhaji M.S. |
Year: | 2004 |
Periodical: | African Security Review |
Volume: | 13 |
Issue: | 3 |
Pages: | 33-46 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | West Africa |
Subjects: | ECOWAS arms trade weapons Politics and Government Military, Defense and Arms Inter-African Relations |
External link: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10246029.2004.9627300 |
Abstract: | This article explores the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons in the West African subregion and efforts by the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to deal with the problem through the 1998 ECOWAS Declaration of a Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa. The article examines articles 4, 9, 13 and 7 of the Moratorium, which deal with the creation of national commissions, exemptions, collection and destruction programmes, and the harmonization of legislation respectively. It focuses on specific national initiatives by four ECOWAS member States, namely, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Mali, in line with the provisions of the Moratorium. The article indicates a concerted effort at national, bilateral and regional levels to deal with the small arms menace in the subregion. However, a major pitfall of the Moratorium is its lack of legal status. In conclusion, the article presents recommendations to deal effectively with the proliferation of illicit small arms. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract, edited.] |