Regulation C/REG.19/12/03 Relating to the Establishment of a Small Arms Unit within the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat

Jurisdiction
African Regional Bodies · Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Date
18 December 2003
Language
English
Type
Regulation

Economic Community of West African States

Regulation C/REG.19/12/03 Relating to the Establishment of a Small Arms Unit within the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat

The Council of Ministers;MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions;MINDFUL of Article 58 of the Treaty on "Regional Security" providing for the establishment of appropriate mechanisms for the timely prevention and resolution of intra-state and inter-state conflicts;MINDFUL of the Declaration of a 3-year Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Light Weapons adopted by the Authority on 31st October 1998 as a means of controlling the proliferation of small arms within the region and eliminating its potential for fostering conflicts within the sub-region;MINDFUL of the ECOWAS Plan of Action and Code of Conduct for the implementation of the Moratorium;RECALLING the extension of this Moratorium in 2001 for another 3-year period;AWARE of the existence of the UNDP Regional Project, the Programme of Coordination and Assistance for Security and Development (PCASED) based in Mali, which operates as the main implementation arm for the Moratorium;MINDFUL of the Protocol on the Mechanism relating to Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-keeping and Security of 10th December 1999 which provides the Community with a structured framework for addressing peace and security issues and which under its Article 50 adopts the Moratorium as an important strategy for preventing conflicts;MINDFUL of the Directive of the Heads of State and Government issued at their Dakar Summit on 31st January 2003 for the establishment of a Small Arms Unit in the Executive Secretariat, which will collaborate with PCASED and more importantly, strengthen ECOWAS Political ownership in the implementation of the Moratorium;CONSIDERING Article 10 (3) (f) of the ECOWAS Treaty which empowers this Council to approve the organizational structure of the Institutions of the Community;DESIRING therefore to reinforce the Executive Secretariat's institutional capacity to effectively implement the Moratorium;ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the thirtieth Meeting of the Administration and Finance Commission held in Accra from 8th to 15th December 2003;ENACTS

Article 1

There is hereby established a Small Arms Unit within the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat to assist in the implementation and monitoring of the ECOWAS Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacturing of Light Weapons.

Article 2

The Small Arms Unit shall be located within the Department of the Political Affairs, Defence and Security of the Executive Secretariat.

Article 3

The Executive Secretariat shall make necessary budgetary allocation for the running of the Unit and shall also undertake, in collaboration with PCASED, intensive resource mobilization from external donors to provide assistance funding for the Unit.

Article 4

This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat within (30) thirty days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same timeframe in the National Gazette of each Member State.
Done in Accra, this 18th day of December 2003Hon. (Dr) Kofi Konadu AprakuChairman for the Council
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