Civil Society Consultation on the Review of the Ecowas Moratorium on the Exportation, Importation, and Manufacture of Small Arms, held at Hotel Residence Ndiambour, Dakar, Senegal, 27 January 2003

SUMMARY REPORT

Background

ECOWAS declared a Three Year Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Small Arms & Light Weapons  in October, 1998. The Moratorium was intended to serve as a coordinated and sustainable regional approach to controlling the illicit proliferation of small arms in West Africa. It was extended in October 2001 for another three years, and is due for renewal again in November 2004.

The extension provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to review the effectiveness of the moratorium in time for the ECOWAS Summit on 30 January 2003. In this regard, ECOWAS Ministers of Foreign Affairs directed the Secretariat to arrange an assessment of the Moratorium implementation, to determine the levels of observance, its general impact, and any obstacles to smooth implementation. Two expert consultants were appointed in August 2002, and an Experts Group Meeting was held from 1-5 December 2002 to review the Evaluation Report submitted by the consultants.

While members of civil society have been broadly supportive of the Moratorium, some groups contended that its effectiveness has been significantly impaired by its voluntary nature and the lack of a corresponding regime of enforceable sanctions. They have also pointed out that the Moratorium is unduly state-centric and fails to address the role of non-state actors on the West African security landscape. These two factors are seen as major obstacles to the goal of entrenching the Moratorium as a priority and practical security in West Africa.

The Centre for Democracy and Development, in conjunction with the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), convened a Civil Society Consultation on the Review of the Moratorium, on Monday, 27 January 2003, at Hotel Residence Niambour, Dakar, Senegal. The host organisation was MALAO, a member of the WAANSA Steering Committee.

The Consultation was designed to provide civil society input into the review process. The two major working documents of the Consultation were (i) the Evaluation Report of the Consultants and (ii) a draft, Supplementary Protocol which had been prepared by CDD.

The objectives of the Consultation were to:

a. review the Report of the Moratorium Evaluation, as submitted by the consultants;
b. develop a Supplementary Protocol to address the role of non-state actors;
c. critique the role of ECOWAS, PCASED, and National Commissions, civil society and international actors in the implementation of the Moratorium; and
d. devise advocacy campaigns to make the Moratorium and the proposed protocol binding, with enforceable sanctions.

Summary of Proceedings:

(i) Opening Session
The Consultation opened with a welcome address by Mr Cheikh T Diop, Vice President of MALAO, and a keynote address by Dr Kayode Fayemi, Director of CDD. While the former welcomed all participants to Senegal, the latter enumerated the objectives of the consultation (detailed above).

Ms Afi Yakubu spoke on behalf of WAANSA and noted that though the Moratorium is a trend-setting document, it has its limitations. She therefore urged the participants to seize the opportunity to put their views to the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of ECOWAS, due to be held the following day.

Representing PCASED, Mr Zeini Moulaye described civil society participation in the moratorium as crucial. In his words, civil society represents ‘the very foundation of the Moratorium’. He further commented that, despite all its limitations, the Moratorium has become a model for other regions of Africa, and indeed for the world. PCASED has been receiving requests for assistance and information from all parts of the globe. He informed the meeting that PCASED is presently examining the possibility of allocating part of its budget to civil society organizations involved in peace and security issues in West Africa. According to him, more than 21,000 small arms have been destroyed since the Malian Flame of Peace.

(ii) Summary of Evaluation Report (Dr Sola Ogunbanwo)
Dr Ogunbanwo is the principal consultant engaged by PCASED to conduct a review of the Moratorium. The following are the highlights of his comments on the Evaluation Report:

(a) Overview

• The role of civil society is important. The voice of civil society ‘should be heard loud and clear’.
• The Plan of Action is a ‘sleeping beauty’ which has remained largely unimplemented.
• Both the Plan of Action and the Code of Conduct for the Moratorium are ambitious.
• ECOWAS Secretariat lacks the capacity to implement the Moratorium.
• Even though the office of a Deputy Executive Secretary (Political, Defence and Security Affairs) has been established within ECOWAS, its staffing remains grossly inadequate.

(b) Monitoring and Implementation of the Moratorium

• There is no effective monitoring of the Moratorium.
• There is a mistaken general impression that PCASED is an implementing agency. However, PCASED was created to lend support to implementation. The primary responsibility for implementation of the Moratorium rests with the National Commissions (NatComs).
• Many of the National Commissions exist in name only.
• The Moratorium remains largely unknown, and has not been popularized in ECOWAS member states.

(c) Recommendations of the Evaluation

• A Small Arms Unit should be established within ECOWAS.
• An ECOWAS-EU Working Group on Small Arms should be established .
• The activities of the Moratorium should be linked to the priorities of NePAD and the African Union.
• National Commissions should be established according to specific guidelines. The status quo leaves too much room for discrepancies.
• National Commissions should be independent, and should be established by legislation (not executive fiat).
• National Commissions should have permanent secretariats with annual budgets.
• The Moratorium should be permanent.
• Each National Commission should have its own National Plan of Action.
• The Wassenaar Agreement should be expanded to other arms producers and exporters, especially countries of Eastern Europe.
• There should be enhanced capacity building for National Commissions.

Highlights of Plenary:

The following are highlights of the issues in the general discussion that followed the Consultant’s presentation:

• The implementation of the Moratorium appears focussed almost exclusively on importation, at the expense of manufacture. This is a significant oversight, given the substantial level of local and traditional manufacture of guns in West Africa.
• There is a need to popularise the Moratorium, so that its implementation and monitoring can be community-based.
• Civil society should be actively and directly involved in the implementation of the Moratorium.
• Some of the NGOs on the National Commissions are government-oriented and supported, and therefore are not necessarily representative of civil society.
• The consensus was that the Moratorium should become a regional Convention on Small Arms.
• The consensus was that a Small Arms Unit should be establish within ECOWAS.
• The activities of National Commissions are characterised and impaired by inadequate civil society participation, lack of comprehensive arms register, lack of frequent meetings, and inter-ministerial rivalry in the management of the National Commissions.
• Many of the arms producers and exporters to Africa are not included in the Wassenaar Agreement.
• The role of civil society is not necessarily to oppose, but often to complement state actors.
• There is a lack of local financial support for PCASED.
• There is a need for the ECOWAS Parliament to play a role in the implementation and monitoring of the Moratorium and conflict management.
• There is a need for a database of small arms experts.
• There should be information sharing and more effective networking among civil society.
• Participants agreed that PCASED has not sufficiently engaged civil society in the implementation and monitoring of the Moratorium.
• There is a need to address the issues of the voluntary nature of the Moratorium and its state-centric bias.
• There is a need for a supplementary protocol to address the role of non-state actors. It was decided to present the NGOs’ draft Supplementary Protocol (which had been prepared as a working document for the consultation) to the ECOWAS Foreign Ministers Meeting, due to be held the following day.

Presentation to the meeting of ECOWAS Foreign Ministers:

Using various informal networks, it was possible to secure audiences and participation at the ECOWAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held at Hotel Meridien, Dakar, on 28 January 2003. Dr Kayode Fayemi of CDD presented the Communiqué of the NGO Consultation to the Foreign Ministers.

Various Foreign Ministers (including those of Ghana and Nigeria) responded to the presentations by civil society. They commended the foresight and commitment of NGOs and agreed that there was a need for a supplementary protocol. They agreed to discuss the recommendations of the NGO Consultation, and enjoined the Secretariat to expedite action on their implementation. The draft Supplementary Protocol was also circulated to the Foreign Ministers.