West African countries joined forces to advance gender-responsive arms control at a Regional Strategic Workshop held from 6–7 August 2025 in Abuja, Nigeria. Co-organized by UNREC and ECOWAS, the workshop aimed to raise awareness and strengthen national capacities to design and implement gender-sensitive arms control initiatives.
Over 40 participants—including 20 women—from 12 ECOWAS Member States attended, alongside representatives from ECOWAS Commission (Political Affairs, Peace and Security; Gender; Early Warning), WAEMU, the EU, and UN entities (UN Women, UNODC, UNMAS, UNOWAS, UNICEF, and the Nigeria Resident Coordinator’s Office). Civil society actors such as SAS, MAG, Halo Trust, WANEP, WAANSA, and IANSA also contributed actively.
Participants reviewed the ECOWAS Convention and welcomed the Regional Action Plan on Gender-Responsive Arms Control, urging its swift implementation with international support.
Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, and Sierra Leone shared national experiences during a panel discussion, highlighting the need for inclusive approaches, improved sex- and age-disaggregated data, and stronger State–CSO collaboration. Youth engagement was emphasized, with calls for enabling their active role in disarmament.
Participants stressed regional knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and international support for gender-responsive arms control and youth inclusion. Key recommendations included swift implementation of ECOWAS’s gender and arms control action plan and development of operational guidance on gender and SALW.
On the margins, Mr. Adedeji Ebo convened a roundtable with 17 NGOs, who underscored their role in bridging policy and community, monitoring legal frameworks, adapting instruments to local contexts, and advancing youth and women’s participation in decision-making.
The roundtable emphasized youth and women as key peacebuilding agents. While challenges to CSO participation in disarmament were noted, discussions focused on opportunities to enhance their role: (i) localizing international and regional legal instruments, (ii) using science and technology for arms control, and (iii) promoting youth and women’s inclusion in decision-making.
