Ghana launches the SALIENT project to combat armed violence and small arms trafficking

This makes Ghana the third African country to benefit from the first phase of the SALIENT Trust fund. This joint initiative, spearheaded by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aims to address armed violence and illicit small arms and light weapons trafficking, emphasizing a comprehensive approach to sustainable security and development.

Speaking on the collaborative efforts of various UN agencies, including UNDP and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in supporting the Ghanaian government and non-state actors such as the National Commission for Small Arms, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Mr. Charles Abani, highlighted the incorporation of small arms control into development frameworks as pivotal to the project's strategy. “Recent global developments underscore the urgent need to develop a robust strategy to safeguard sustainable development gains and address the menace of small arms proliferation. Efforts must focus on effective cross-border cooperation, capacity building, proper stockpile management, whole-of-country engagement, effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms and wider peacebuilding and governance issues to achieve lasting peace and security” he said.

“The project will unfold over a 9-month timeline...the passage of the Small Arms Commission Bill into Law will provide the necessary tools and mechanisms to effectively regulate the possession and transfer of Small Arms and Light Weapons” stated the Board Chairman of the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso. 

Launching the project, the Director of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), Mr Nahmtante Anselme Yabouri said the “SALIENT is part of a new global security approach focused on sustainable development and resilience in the face of growing armed violence orchestrated by armed groups, violent extremist or terrorist groups.”

The Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Ghana, Mr. Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov, commended all stakeholders for their collaboration in securing Ghana as a candidate for the SALIENT Project 2024. He stressed that UNDP would continue to support the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons through various initiatives and indicated among others that the SALIENT project will focus on “supporting Civil Society Coalition on small arms and light weapons in Ghana coordinating non-state actors’ efforts in addressing [its] proliferation for sustainable peace and development in Ghana and the ECOWAS region”.

In his closing remarks, the Country Representative of The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNODC, Mr. Bernard Henebeng Asamoah, stressed the need to work together to help silence the guns.