By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
Reacting to a press statement that was put out by Sierra Leone Commission on Arms and Ammunition(SLeCAA) recognizing September as Amnesty Month, the Commissioner of SLeCAA, Binneh K. Conteh has told Politico that Sierra Leone is working with the Africa Union (AU) to ensure that silencing the guns by 2030 is achieved.
Binneh said the AU is working with member states to ensure that guns are silenced on the continent, for the attainment of peace and security. "We are going with what the AU has said because Sierra Leone is part of the continent," he added.
He said there have been conflicts going on in some parts of the continent, referencing the Sahel region, and for guns to go silent the AU decided to come up with strategy to raise awareness every September about the issue. He noted that developments have been slowed down in some parts of Africa as a result of ongoing conflicts.
"Silencing the gun is a very good way of ensuring that the peace and security of our people are maintained," he stated, adding that Sierra Leone is moving in that direction .
"The Africa Union (AU) declared September every year as an Amnesty month to raise awareness on peace, disarmament and the collective commitment to 'Silencing the Gun' on the Africa conntinent. The Sierra Leone Commission on Arms and Ammunition (SLeCAA), in collaboration with Sierra Leone Action Network on Small Arms(SLANSA), is commemorating the Amnesty Month in compliance with the AU's commitment to 'Silencing the Gun' by 2030," part of the press releas reads.
On what the Commission is doing to help achieve this year's theme "Building Peace, Securing Our Future" Conteh said since the Commission was established, they have been working with ECOWAS on directives in the marking of weapons that are coming into the country and making sure that civilians should not have weapons without a license from the Commission.
He spoke about the need to build proper Arms Depots to ensure that weapons used by the Police and Military are kept safe he said, recalling that weapons were not properly kept before wherein anyone could easily access them.
"We are also training amourers, managers and storekeepers on the art of weaponry, so weapons are kept 'properly,"' he pointed out.
He spoke about Organized Crime West Africa Response to Trafficking (OCWART)- a project which he said was re-launched three years to encourage people with weapons to bring them who will then be provided with community development, thereby discouraging them from having weapons.
On the Commission’s engagement with youths he said they have gone to communities, addressing them and market women , telling them not to use weapons and that they should preach peace.
Responding to the issue of unlicensed gun owners, manufacturers and repairers, the Commissioner said they are using the African Union's advocacy approach, appealing that all guns be brought for licensing or proper management.
The Sierra Leone Commission on Arms and Ammunition(SLeCAA), known before as the Sierra Leone National Commission on Small Arms, was established by an Act of Parliament in 2010 to regulate the manufacture, sale, possession and the use of small arms and light weapons.
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