April 27, 2009, Lome, Togo: African civil society organizations are challenging their governments to contribute to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) process, and appealing to the international community to support their fight against small arms proliferation.

In a statement issued after a regional workshop on the ATT in Lome, Togo, Friday, civil society groups from Central, Northern and West Africa called for international regulations to effectively control weapons.

They also urged African governments to speak in detail about the feasibility, parameters and scope of an ATT, while Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member states were asked to ratify the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons.

The Lome workshop was jointly organized by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) and the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA). IANSA is a strategic partner of The Advocacy Project (AP).

Participants included civil society groups from Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tunisia and Togo. The workshop was meant to prepare the groups to participate in the regional governmental workshop on an ATT to be held in Dakar, Senegal, next week.

According to the statement, the workshop discussed the ATT process, why the world needs an ATT and the benefits to Africa, and the role of civil society in the UN process. The participants also learned how international law (including the UN charter and human rights law) applies to international arms transfers.