Dialogue on small arms opens today

The Department of State for  Interior (DoSI) in partnership with the Ecowas Small Arms and Light Weapons Program (ECOSAP) will hold a “Workshop on National Public Dialogue on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)” at the Paradise Suites Hotel on the 12th and 13th of November 2007 .

The workshop, according to a release issued by DoSI, is being organized within the framework of a sub-regional initiative spearheaded by ECOSAP, to regulate and control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the West African sub-region.

“This workshop”, according to the release, “will create the forum  for key stakeholders across the country to deliberate on the issue of SALW and its attendant effects on the development of the country.

The outcome of this public dialogue will go a long way in informing the overall strategy of The Gambia in combating the circulation  and trafficking of illicit  arms  in the country as well as implementation of the Ecowas convention on SALW after its entry in force”  .

“The workshop”, the release concluded, “is in pursuance of government’s general policy of ensuring that The Gambia remains a stable, peaceful and prosperous nation, where the circulation of small arms and weapons is contained within the provisions and parameters of international conventions and protocols”.