The tiny West African nation of the Gambia is getting closer to signing the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) as government has shown a strong political will to accede to the treaty in a near future.
The Minister of Defence Serign Modou Njie commended ATT Secretariat for providing the necessary support to facilitate the implementation of needed steps for the country to become ATT compliant. He then added: “The ATT National Assessment Report that we are about to validate is the direct offshoot of that support.”
Minister Njie made this remark Wednesday at a validation workshop of the ATT national assessment report, which is underway at Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Center in Bijilo, some 12 km away from Banjul. The meeting comes at a time when armed conflicts are spreading across the continent with devastating consequences.
Njie reminded the gathering about the government commitment to acceding to ATT, noting that everything culminated from 2021 during State parties meeting in Switzerland during which President Adama Barrow expressed interest for Gambia to join the organisation.
“The Gambia recognizes the importance of the ATT for global and regional peace and security,” he remarked.
Considering the threats hanging over the world, Minister Serigne Modou Njie emphasized the need for countries to play by the rules.
He went further to reaffirm the government commitment to international law.
The report, which is being validated, is part of a wider project, funded by the ATT Voluntary Trust Fund, that will develop a national action plan grounded in a series of major steps that The Gambia will need to take for its membership to become a reality.
A top official of the NGO Safer world Arms Unit, Roy Isbister, noted that the project is designed to look at the relevant Gambian laws.
“We are talking of small arms but also all other conventional arms,” he added while indicating that they are looking at a system as it exists in The Gambia and to compare them with the Arms Trade Treaty.
“We’ve done similar projects in Liberia and Sierra Leone. And it is Sierra Leone that recommended us to Gambia,” he revealed.
The Head of the Geneva-based ATT, Dumisani Dladla, expressed satisfaction at the number of ministers, senior government officials taking part in the validation.
“This demonstrates a strong political commitment to international laws governing the transfer of conventional arms,” he said. ”
The ATT emblematic figure pointed out the projected objectives they want to achieve, revolving around peace, security, transfer of as well transparency on how government conducts matters pertaining to arms trade.
Today’s validation workshop was graced by Interior Minister, National Security Adviser (NAS), the Chief of Defence Staff as well as other Heads of the country’s security bodies.
