Growing concern over the spread of small arms and light weapons in the Gulf of Guinea has brought regional leaders, security experts, and development partners to Accra for a high-level dialogue aimed at preventing violent conflict and extremism across West and Central Africa.

The Regional Dialogue on Weapons and Ammunition Management (WAM) focuses on the need for stronger, coordinated, and preventive approaches to address the proliferation of weapons and ammunition, which continue to fuel crime, insecurity, and instability in the sub-region.

The Deputy Minister for the Interior, Mr Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, said the dialogue is taking place at a critical moment, noting that the uncontrolled circulation of weapons undermined governance, development, and community safety. He observed that the easy availability of arms enabled criminal networks and armed groups to operate with increasing lethality and impunity.

Citing African Union estimates, Mr Terlabi said about 40 million small arms and light weapons were circulating on the continent as of 2019, adding that Africa now produced enough weapons to meet its own demand. This makes it imperative for countries to establish effective systems to account for civilian-owned weapons as well as those held by state security agencies.

The African Union High Representative on Silencing the Guns, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, described the proliferation of weapons and ammunition as a major threat to peace and stability in the Gulf of Guinea. He commended the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) for convening the dialogue, describing it as timely given the region’s strategic importance.

Dr Chambas highlighted the work of the AU’s Silencing the Guns initiative, which engages regional economic communities, religious leaders, civil society organisations, women, and youth groups to curb illicit arms flows. While acknowledging progress through existing legal frameworks such as ECOWAS and AU conventions and the Arms Trade Treaty, he noted that enforcement capacity remained uneven across countries.

He called on participants to move beyond fragmented interventions and adopt integrated, community-based, and harmonised regional approaches, stressing that stronger technical capacity was key to effective conflict prevention.

The UNDP Resident Representative to Ghana, Mr Niloy Banerjee, said security issues are increasingly dominating global development discussions. While describing Ghana as a beacon of stability, he warned that large numbers of unregistered and untraceable weapons posed serious risks. He emphasised the need to translate policies into action through demand reduction, stockpile management, traceability, and capacity building.

Mr Banerjee also stressed that long-term peace depended on inclusive development, noting that poverty, exclusion, and lack of economic opportunity often drove communities to resort to arms.

The Commandant of KAIPTC, Air Vice Marshal David A. Akrong, reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to supporting weapons and ammunition management through training, research, and technical assistance. He said the dialogue offered an important opportunity to share best practices, strengthen partnerships, and promote integrated approaches linking security, governance, and development.