Title: ECOWAS press release No. 63/2001 Lusaka,6th July, 2001
ECOWAS LEADERS EXTEND MORATORIUM ON LIGHT WEAPONS The Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS have decided to extend the Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Light Weapons in West Africa for another period of three (3) years with effect from 5th July, 2001. The Moratorium, which was declared in Abuja on 31st October, 1998, seeks to curtail the proliferation and circulation of light weapons in West Africa. For this purpose, an action plan and a code of conduct were adopted by ECOWAS Member States in March, 1999. The plan aims primarily to establish a culture of peace, put in place national commissions, train security agents, destroy surplus weapons in Member States, establish dialogue with arms manufacturers and also establish a data bank and a small arms register in West Africa. These arms fuel conflicts in the sub-region and encourage the use of child-soldiers. The declaration by the Heads of State and Government of this Moratorium, the first of its kind in the world, is therefore, most heartwarming.