UNDP Resident Representative Niloy Banerjee warns that diverting arms creates a false sense of entitlement, fostering impunity and violence. At the “Silence the gun and save a life” campaign launch, he emphasized that easy access to diverted weapons exacerbates conflicts, harming the country’s and region’s image.
He made this statement at the launch of the campaign against small arms jointly organized by the commission of small arms and the UNDP under the theme “Silence the gun and save a life”.
In his statement, Mr. Banerjee stressed that access to these diverted weapons brings impunity and violence. He said ” It creates a false sense of entitlement that might is right. This kind of mentality exacerbates conflicts and negatively affects the positive image not only of the country but also of the sub region and for Africa at large” He further stated that these weapons circulated easily due to porous borders which along with other things also contribute to drugs and human trafficking, he said makes the disarment efforts quiet challenging.
According to him the United Nations estimates that at least 875million small arms are in circulation. Speaking on the sidelines however, Mr. Leonard Tettey the national project coordinator for small arms at the UNDP posited that that commission for small arms was yet to commission a study to ascertain the number of arms in circulation in the country. He further implored the public to trust our security services to take care of the security needs of the nation rather than seeking out arms for individual protection.
The commissioner for small arms Mr. Samuel Williams Yeboah, stated in an interview with the press that, the campaign is a joint effort by the UNDP and the small arms commission to undertake public education across the nation to sensitize the public on the the need to avoid the use of arms during and after the election which comes under the banner “Ballots without Bullets”. among other things, Mr. Yeboah stated that their major challenge has to do with financing such projects. He encouraged the general public to report individuals in their communities who possess arms unlawfully.
According to him the campaign would be carried around churches, mosques, schools as well as durbar grounds across the length and breath of the country.
