A total of 29 surrendered guns and ammunition will be destroyed on Saturday, March 21 in the Basse Ward of Koina in Upper River Region.

The symbolic destruction ceremony - organised by the West African Network for Peace-building (WANEP) The Gambia, together with the communities of Koina Ward and its partners - aimed at raising awareness nationally about the dangers of unregulated arms trade and possession.

Being organised on the theme: let’s safeguard and consolidate the peace and stability in The Gambia, the ceremony also seeks to generate national interest through the media on the proliferation of illicit arms and the need to step up efforts to ensure an “arms-free communities and the maintenance of peace and stability.”

Under the framework of the Sub-Regional Programme Small Arms and Light Weapons (SRP-SALW), the destruction of the arms symbolises the fight against the proliferation, spread, misuse and abuse of small arms and light weapons at national, regional and global levels. The SRP-SALW - being implemented in The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea and Senegal - the initiative aims at improving the security of people and communities in West Africa.

Alongside the ceremony, three micro-projects will be unveiled for Koina Ward in return. The projects comprised a multi-purpose skills centre, two millet grinding machines, coos and groundnut and public hand-pump.

The SPR-SALW is funded by the Canadian Fund for Africa through the consortium of Oxfam-GN and the Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CEC).

The Gambia started implementing the project in April 2005 in Koina Ward, after a preliminary survey and research.

Impact

With the full support and assistance of the Department of State for Defense and the Department of State for Interior, the project received 29 guns and ammunition voluntarily surrendered as a result of the sensitisation. As indicators of success of the sensitisation campaign, weapons were surrendered outside the project site; and the security forces in Basse reported that they received less calls of reports of banditry and armed attacks.

Members of the community now know that guns can not be inherited without being re-registered; they know the procedure for registration and renewal of license of guns; and they know the type of weapons to possess for hunting purposes.

Additionally, the women have been the key actors in every stage of the implementation of the project, as they are victims of armed violence in communities around the world.

The ceremony will be attended by representatives of the government of The Gambia, members of the management team in Dakar and Canada, the local authorities, the security, members of the diplomatic and consular crops, representatives of national commissions of the four countries, representatives of Ecowas, members of the civil society, among others.