Accra, Dec 9, GNA - Mrs Trudy Kernighan, Canadian High Commissioner, on Thursday said it was important for Ghana to raise public awareness and inform the citizens about the effects of the misuse of small arms to enhance stability and security. She said the misuse of small arms fuelled conflicts contributed to violent crimes and hampered humanitarian assistance, peace building and sustainable development. Mrs Kernighan said this at the launch of a five-year strategic plan to combat illicit arms by the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA) Ghana, in Accra.

She said the proliferation and misuse of small arms continued to threaten the security of people in West Africa and also contributed to emerging threats such as human trafficking, smuggling, terrorism and the violation of human rights. Mrs Kernighan said armed conflicts fuelled by small arms obstructed projects, damaged infrastructure, looted materials, endangered workers as well as destroyed the physical and human resources necessary for economic growth.

She said the strategic plan would guide the actions of WAANSA towards building a secured environment for the development of the country. Mr Ken Kenny, President of WAANSA, Ghana, said the strategic plan, which was developed through consultation with civil society organisations from the Districts, Regional and National levels, was to complement good governance for a peaceful, secure and gun-free country. He said the plan would help provide sensitization programmes and education to identified groups such as the youth, women, drivers' associations and traders on the need to be vigilant and to provide information on wrong possession and misuse of small arms to the authorized security agencies.

Mr Kenny said it was estimated that over 80,000 illicit small arms were in the arms of civilians in the country and 80 per cent of crimes were committed using locally manufactured guns, adding that gun based-violence was on the increase.

Mr Daniel Andor, Programs Manager, UNDP, said the proliferation of illicit weapons especially their continued availability undermined a country's ability to sustain peace and stability. He said the global annual trade in small arms and light weapons in 2004 was 7.4 billion dollars, with 55 per cent being illegal. In 2001 small arms caused more than 1,000 deaths per day, adding that small arms were the cause of 90 per cent of civilian casualties in conflicts. He called on African countries including Ghana to institutionalise peace building by creating conflict resolution architectures in governance so that disputes and disagreements did not escalate to the point of armed conflicts. 9 Dec. 10