Monrovia – In order to control and minimize small arms in Liberia and the West African region, a two-day capacity building training on the exemption procedures based on the provisions of ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons is being held at the Ministry of National Defense at the Barclay Training Center (BTC).
Report by J.H. Webster Clayeh – [email protected]
The two days capacity building training brought together security officers from the Liberia National Police, Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization and other paramilitary services along with representatives from ECOWAS.
Speaking Wednesday at the start of the capacity building training, the Chairman of the National Commission on Small Arms in Liberia James Fromayan stressed the importance of the training.
It said it was important to have mechanisms in place to stop the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the sub-region.
Fromoyan said the training would help various paramilitary services in strengthening their capacity on combating small arms and a light weapon in the country.
He, however, called on participants to take the training seriously in order to impact their various institutions.
Fromoyan cited: “By hosting this training workshop, we are certain of achieving compliance with the commission mandate of holding training for focus persons in the members’ states while at the same time meeting our general statutory men and women which provide us to collaborate and share information with other Small Arms commissions.”
Also, ECOWAS Ambassador to Liberia His Excellency Tunde Ajisonmo said whether import or export, the proliferation of small arms and the light weapon is dangerous to the Sub-region.
“We know how small arms and the light weapon had destabilized our Sub-region,” the ECOWAS Ambassador to Liberia said.
He added that members of the ECOWAS States are not happy over the issue of Small Arms in the Sub-region, adding that it is dangerous when members’ states do not comply to stop people who should not have an asset with arms get hold of small arms.
Ajisonmo said: “ECOWAS is doing this with members of ECOWAS States. We are not doing unnecessary control but control that desire for peace, for security and for development of our Sub-region.”
According to him, the department of Peace and Regional Security of ECOWAS is working closely with all Small Arms Commissions in the Sub-region something he said is a welcome development.