Permanent Mission of Togo to the United Nations

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1 Translated from French Permanent Mission of Togo to the United Nations 432/MPT-ONU/2004 The Permanent Mission of Togo to the United Nations presents its compliments to the United Nations Secretariat and, with reference to its note verbale DDA/1-2004/TSA of 14 January 2004, has the honour to transmit to it herewith a report on the implementation of the programme of activities of the Togolese National Commission to Combat the Proliferation, Illicit Circulation of and Traffic in Small Arms and Light Weapons (see annex). The Permanent Mission of Togo takes this opportunity to convey to the United Nations Secretariat the renewed assurances of its highest consideration. New York, 13 May 2004 United Nations Secretariat New York

2 Office of the President of the Republic National Commission to Combat the Proliferation, Illicit Circulation of and Traffic in Small Arms and Light Weapons BP: 1678, Tel./Fax: , Lomé, Togo Report on the implementation of the programme of activities of the Togolese National Commission to Combat the Proliferation, Illicit Circulation of and Traffic in Small Arms and Light Weapons Introduction In accordance with paragraphs 13 and 14 of General Assembly resolution 58/241, entitled The illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, of 23 December 2003, the Togolese National Commission to Combat the Proliferation, Illicit Circulation of and Traffic in Small Arms and Light Weapons wishes to provide some informatio n concerning the implementation of its programme of activities. This information relates to the following points: Legislation on small arms; Keeping of records on small arms; Destruction of seized illegal arms; Raising of awareness among the po pulation of the harmful consequences of small arms; Identification of groups and individuals engaged in the manufacture of and trade in small arms; Security of arms held by the armed forces and paramilitaries; Authorization to bear arms. Before elaborating on these points, it is important to focus on the Togolese National Commission. I. The National Commission to Combat the Proliferation, Illicit Circulation of and Traffic in Small Arms and Light Weapons The Togolese National Commission was established in 2001, by a decree of the Council of Ministers, pursuant to the decision of the heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) inviting each ECOWAS member State to establish a national commission to co mbat the proliferation, illicit circulation of and traffic in small arms and light weapons, and took up its functions in December It consists of figures from civil society and officers of the police and security forces and is mandated to: Propose to the Government any activity that furthers the efforts to combat the proliferation, circulation of and traffic in small arms and light weapons;

3 Propose any regulation enabling it to carry out its tasks; Coordinate and direct the activities of the various government departments and services involved in or concerned with the efforts to combat the proliferation of small arms; Initiate and encourage any educational activities that may raise awareness among the population of the dangers of the prolife ration of small arms; Collect and utilize all information and data concerning the manufacture of and trade in small arms (art. 2 of decree No /PR establishing the National Commission). Under article 3 of this decree, the National Commission is the national point of contact responsible for acting as liaison with other States and with international organizations on matters relating to the implementation of programmes of action. II. Togolese legislation on small arms With regard to laws, regulations and administrative procedures for the exercise of effective control over the production, proliferation, circulation of and trade in small arms, it must be pointed out that the relevant Togolese texts have many lacunae and do not reflect international norms. Reforms are therefore necessary to make them enforceable and adapt them to current requirements. For this reason, the Commission made this problem a priority as soon as it took up its functions. Indeed, after reviewing all the existing texts on small arms, it intends to submit very shortly, with the assistance of an expert, either to the Government or the National Assembly, a draft law covering all aspects of the issue with a view to its adoption. III. Keeping of full and accurate records on the manufacture, holding and transfer of small arms in areas under national jurisdiction In this connection, it should be noted that, since Togo is not an arms producer, the only registers that exist in our country relate to the possession of legal weapons: one, covering weapons held by the National Army, is kept by the Ministry of Defence; the other, covering arms owned by certain civilians, is kept by the Ministry of the Interior. Concerning the latter register, parallel records will be kept by the Commission. IV. Destruction of seized illegal arms In this regard, it must be signalled that the Commission has already destroyed a significant quantity of seized illegal arms and ammunition. This took place on 17 December 2003, in the canton of Léon, a town in northern Togo about 400 kilometres from the capital, in the presence of experts from the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa.

4 These arms and ammunition, which consisted of 1,131 hunting weapons, 133 home-assembled pistols and revolvers and 99,338 cartridges of all calibres, were seized at roadblocks and from armed robbers. In addition, it must be pointed out that, well before the Commission was established, Togo had twice destroyed seized illegal arms. Lastly, it should also be noted that the Commission is preparing to destroy very shortly around 5,500 hunting weapons, 475 pistols and 950 large - and smallgame traps. V. Raising of awareness among the population of the damaging effects of the proliferation, illicit circulation of and traffic in small arms Awareness-raising occupies a central place in the Togolese Commission s programme of activities, since it believes that prevention is better than cure. Public awareness activities are just getting off the gro und and cover the entire national territory. Awareness-raising is conducted through public meetings, seminars and colloquiums, the media, symposiums, conferences, general assemblies on security, Commission open house days and poster campaigns. VI. Identification of groups and individuals engaged in the manufacture of and trade in small arms Pending the adoption of legislative measures concerning the identification of such groups and individuals, the Commission intends to conduct a field study before proceeding to their identification. VII. Security of arms held by armed and paramilitary forces With regard to security, it must be pointed out that Togo has effective measures for the management, stockpiling and inspection of arms held by armed and paramilitary forces. First, these arms are stockpiled in secure locations; second, the stockpiles are subject to regular and random inspections; third, stockpile management complies with very strict conditions; fourth, the personnel responsible is highly qualified. The Commission, for its part, intends very shortly to construct a store for stockpiling illegal arms it seizes. The project study having already been completed, the Commission is now seeking funding. VIII. Authorization to bear arms Lastly, concerning authorization to bear arms, it must first be emphasized that this issue is dealt with by an advisory committee in consultation with the Ministry of the Interior.

5 The Commission intends to have representatives on this committee and steps have a lready been taken to that end. Authorization to bear arms is granted under very strict conditions, which mainly have to do with the moral character of the person making the request. Conclusion This, briefly, is what the Commission has been able to accomplish since its establishment. Of course, it is still in its early stages, but it has many plans for the implementation of the mandate assigned to it. However, it is facing huge financial problems. Indeed, notwithstanding the goodwill of the Togolese Government and its constant tireless efforts, the Commission is having difficulties seeing some of its activities through. The situation is all the more worrying since, despite its repeated appeals and correspondence, the Commission has still not received, from the time of its establishment until now, the US$ 25,000 initially allocated to each national commission for the start-up of its activities. The Commission therefore takes this opportunity to launch, yet again, an urgent appeal to the Programme for Coordination and Assistance for Security and Development in Africa (PCASED) to fulfil its obligations.

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