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Emminent Persons Group
Press Release
April 18, 2002

Gen. E. A. Erskine Advises Eminent Persons Group
(EPG) on Small Arms and Light Weapons

Accra, GHANA, 18 April 2002. General Emmanuel Alexander Erskine, an eminent son of Ghana and first commander of UNIFIL, has once more been called upon to serve the global community. This time, he is not going to manage an army between two avowed foes in the Middle East, though this task is equally challenging. Gen Erskine has been invited to serve on the Advisory Group to the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on small arms and light weapons.

EPG is an international commission of 24 world notables under the co-chairmanship of former OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim and Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare, which operates close to the UN Secretary-General's efforts to advance a global small arms non-proliferation regime.

The letter signed by Albrecht Gero Muth (Executive Director of EPG) to General Erskine had the following opening line:

"On behalf of the Co-Chairs of the Eminent Persons Group, I have the high honour and distinct privilege to invite you to join the EPG Advisory Group in order to help advance cooperation on implementation of the Programme of Action, (A/Conf.192/15) adopted by the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects..."

The Advisory Group consists of NGO representatives ---regionally-, gender- and issue-balanced---, under joint co-chairmanship of Owen Greene of Bradford University and Richard Mugisha of People With Disabilities of Uganda. Both are active members of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). Within the AG, senior officials of large movement based organizations (Lutheran World Federation, PaxChristi International) are paired with representatives from affected countries.

Some notable members of the EPG include: Lloyd Axworthy, Grigory V. Berdennikov, Amadou Kebe, Peter Mandelson, Robert S. McNamara, P. Narasimha Rao, Mohamed Sahnoun, Edward Shevardnadze, and Rakesh Sood, to mention but a few.

The objective of the advisory group is to avail members of the EPG of the benefit of the breadth and depth of expertise among all stakeholders. Members of the AG will be advising the EPG on how to advance implementation of the programme of action, especially in the areas of marking, tracing and norms for transfer under international law. Eradication of illicit proliferation depends upon cooperation among states and civil society including industry and NGO's in joint efforts to implement the Programme of Action. The Secretary-General supports EPG's efforts to advance such cooperation and believes the Group plays an important role towards that end. Key supplier States, including China, Russia, UK and US, support the effort as well.

The EPG also cooperates closely with the governments of Austria, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden, and Turkey.
The illicit proliferation of small arms has become a critical security issue in Ghana. To complement the efforts of the government, a number of NGOs, hosted by the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), came together to establish the Ghana Action Network on Small Arms (GANSA) in March 2002. General Erskine is the chairman of the steering committee of GANSA.

The government and people of Ghana therefore welcome the news of General Erskine's invitation to the join the Advisory Group of the EPG. Now that we have the ear of the EPG closer at home, Ghana should take advantage of this rare opportunity by spearheading the crusade against the illegal manufacture, import and export of small arms in West Africa. Until the establishment of GANSA, the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) seemed to be a lone voice in calling for all countries in West Africa to respect and uphold the tenets of the ECOWAS Moratorium.

Since the end of the Cold War, Africa has experienced several unrests, which have been attributed to the plethora of small arms on the continent. Out of an estimated number of 49 wars fought on the African continent between 1970 and 1996, small arms were the weapons of choice in 46 of them. Each year, the world records an average 700,000 small arms-related deaths. Lamentably, more than half of such human calamities occur on this continent. In West Africa alone, there are more than eight (8) million illicit small arms in circulation.

Gen. Erskine's contribution to the non-proliferation of small arms and light weapons is a journey of a thousand miles, which he has commenced with its first step. This was captured in his letter of acceptance to the eminent persons in the following lines:

"…I feel particularly encouraged because our world is beginning to realise that small arms are among the most dangerous inventions of mankind, where skills to manufacture them increase in sophistication by the day with corresponding efficiency to kill.

The UNPoA has come at a point where humanity needs to uphold and ensure that it is implemented to the letter. We should not be despaired by the rather slow process we are experiencing in its implementation. If you would recall, the first 'Agenda for Peace' document was almost silent on small arms but today we have managed to arrive at a document we can work with as members of the UN family…"

By his motivational words, the General indirectly means that each and every one of us has an obligation to make this world a safer place than we came to meet it.

Written and electronically signed by
Afi Yakubu (FOSDA) 18/04/02
Contact: Afi Yakubu, Associate Director
Foundation for Security & Development in Africa (FOSDA)
Accra, GHANA, West Africa
Tel. 233.21.81.12.91
Email: FOSAD_Africa@yahoo.com