The abuse of small arms has caused untold distress, and the United Nations must lead the process to stem their proliferation, said Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor at the opening of the UN General Assembly on 25 September. Ghana is the current Chair of the African Union, so President Kufuor's statement reflects the high priority placed on small arms control in the region. He stressed the importance of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA).

Implementing the PoA, Ghana has established a National Commission on Small Arms (NatCom), an agency authorised by parliament to eradicate the illicit gun trade. The NatCom unites high-level expertise from law enforcement, military, civil society and seven government departments. It proposed revisions to the 1972 Arms and Ammunition Legislation to bring Ghana in line with its international commitments and best practices. The revisions were adopted in 2007. Ghana is in the process of ratifying the 2006 ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms.

A 2006 baseline assessment on illicit small arms in Ghana estimated that there are 220,000 guns in civilian hands, and only 95,000 of these are legally registered. There are an estimated 75,000 unregistered locally-manufactured guns in Ghana, and the government is concerned that these are fuelling violence in the country and its neighbours. The National Commission has started an awareness-raising campaign to encourage citizens to obey the law and register their weapons. The law requires registration to be renewed every year, though implementation has been difficult. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is working with the national police to introduce a computerised firearms register.

A collection of articles on small arms in Ghana can be found on the Small Arms Survey website.