NGOs prepare plan to help curb small arms proliferation

Civil society groups began meeting in Lome on Thursday to fine tune plans to support a continent-wide effort to curb the proliferation and trafficking of small arms in Africa. The meeting ends on Saturday with the presentation of a Civil Society Action Plan in Support of the Outcome of the OAU Ministerial Conference on Small Arms, held on 29-30 November in Bamako, Mali. Issues being discussed include promoting transparency and confidence-building measures in Africa through, for example, an Africa-wide small arms and light weapons register and database. Participants have also been preparing recommendations on civil society’s role on national and regional mechanisms for fighting the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Africa. The meeting is organised by the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa in collaboration with Oxfam Great Britain, Norweigian Initiative on Small Arms, Norwegian Church Aid, ICRC, International Alert, Group for Research and Information on Peace and Security.