Japan supports Kofi Annan Centre(page 28)

Story: Michael Donkor

THE Japanese government has provided $2 million to support the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) to build the capacity of ECOWAS institutions to effectively deal with the proliferation of small arms in the region.
With this assistance, Ghana is being supported as the continental hub for conflict prevention, capacity development and peacekeeping training.
The three-year capacity-building support programme spans from 2008 to 2010 and encompasses 10 training sessions, which will benefit 400 participants from the sub-region.
It is estimated that there are eight million weapons in West Africa, with approximately 50 per cent of them being used for illegal activities such as violent crime and drug trafficking.
The Training Development and Programme Design Officer at the KAIPTC, Commodore Dereck Deighton, said resource persons were experts from KAIPTC, ECOWAS and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
He said through the support, the UNDP was also building on the Millennium Development Goals by increasing the partnership for development and bringing more stakeholders on board the centre.
He said the programme would provide the avenue for ECOWAS constituents to benefit from a broad spectrum of training on all aspects of small arms to enhance their capacity to manage and control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and consolidate peace in the sub-region.
The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Yutaka Nakamura, said at the country level, Japan was supporting the effort of arms collection in countries affected by conflict recently, pointing out that such collections had yielded positive results.
He said the Japanese government believed that a reduction in the proliferation of small arms in West Africa would lead directly to a decrease in armed conflict and in crime levels in the sub-region.
The United Nations Resident Co-ordinator, Mr Daouda Toure, noted that the adverse effects of the proliferation of small arms were clear and contributed negatively to national development.
He said those who underestimated the negative impact of small arms proliferation should consider its impact on fuelling conflicts and violence.
Mr Toure said the UNDP was delighted that there was increasing support to upscale or drive interventions in small arms issues and pledged to continue to support such initiatives for development.