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Sub-regional Legal Assistance Workshop for States Parties to the Kinshasa Convention on SALW

IMG 20190925 WA0005From 25th to 27th September 2019, at the Sipopo International Conference Center in Malabo, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, the United Nations Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) organized, in collaboration with the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), and the Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, with the political support of the African Union, a Sub-Regional Legal Assistance Workshop for States Parties to the Kinshasa Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW).

The workshop is an integral part of the project "Supporting African States towards the Vision of ‘Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020’: Capacity Building for Central African States".

The workshop aimed at strengthening the legal capacity of States in the implementation of the Central African Convention for the Control of SALW, their Ammunition and all Parts and Components that can be used for their Manufacture, Repair and Assembly.

The event brought together a total of 46 participants from 11 ECCAS Member States as well as academic experts and practitioners and focused not only on the legal obligations of States Parties to the Kinshasa Convention on SALW, but also on best practices to update national arms control legal texts.

The work was opened by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Her Excellency Maria Angeles MIAGA. Also in attendance were Mr Guy-Pierre GARCIA, Deputy Secretary General, Head of Department of Human Integration, Peace, Security and Stability of the ECCAS, Mrs. Marilyn Tayim Ngum Fru, Senior Policy Advisor, Deputy Head of Political Affairs of UNOCA, Mr. Mady MBAYE, Resident Coordinator a.i. of the United Nations System in Equatorial Guinea and Mr. Anselme Nahmtante YABOURI, Director of the ODA’s Regional Office for Africa: the United Nations Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) and Leonardo Lara, from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

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During the workshop, experts presented the Kinshasa Convention on Small Arms and related legal obligations. They also presented efforts by various multilateral organizations such as ECCAS to assist Member States to ratify the convention and implement its provisions, the international standards on the control of small arms, in accordance with the Modular Small-arms-control Implementation Compendium (MOSAIC). The workshop was also an opportunity for the sharing of experiences and best practices, including the experience of Burundi, Sierra Leone, Mali and Burkina in the development and implementation of laws on the control of small arms and light weapons. Each of the 11 ECCAS Member State delegations presented the state of play and challenges as they relate to the implementation of the Kinshasa Convention in their respective countries. At the end of the workshop, a record of conclusions and recommendations towards ECCAS Member States, ECCAS Secretariat and the United Nations was prepared and adopted.

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