On 18 - 20 September UNODC held meetings in Accra, Ghana, with representatives from the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons and the relevant officials from the Ministry of the Interior and the Police Service. The mission was within the framework of the global project on firearms with a focus on the implementation of the activities under cluster one: to promote adherence and implementation of UNTOC and its Firearms Protocol and support regional harmonization efforts, through legislative assessments and gap analysis and provision of tailored legislative advice and legal drafting support.
The mission's objective was to follow up on the accession of Ghana to the UN Firearms Protocol with specific advice on the legislative harmonization between the domestic legislation and Protocol's provisions. UNODC presented to the national counterparts the findings of the comparative analysis between the UN Firearms Protocol, the ECOWAS Convention on SALW and the domestic legislation on firearms. The legislative review focused on the provisions related to definitions of firearms and ammunition, record-keeping, marking of firearms with special attention on the organization of the import marking, export and import controls, the procedure for seizures and the provisions on firearms related offences.
UNODC held meetings with the representatives of the UN Coordination Office and the Delegation of the European Union, who were informed about the activities under the global project on firearms.
