The National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCSALW) has urged the government to domesticate the treaties of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that it has signed unto.
IHL is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflicts.
Mr Leonard Tettey, a representative of NCSALW, who made the call, also indicated that apart from the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), all other weapons have been ratified by the government.
He was speaking at a meeting with the National IHL Committee of Ghana, organised by the Ghana Red Cross Society in Accra on Thursday.
According to him, it was very necessary for the Attorney General to use its power as the adviser to the government on legal issues to ensure the treaties were signed.
Mr Tettey also admonished the government to come out with a national control list which would be subject for prohibition and restriction of certain weapons.
“Though the constitution of Ghana illegalises the possession of small arms, it cannot make anyone who possesses chemical weapons face the law when arrested,” he added.
The Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mr Charles Kpan, in his presentation mentioned that the implementation of the IHL required various states to adopt a number laws and regulations, adding that coordination between various government departments was also necessary.
He said advising the government on the promotion of ratification, evaluating existing national laws on arms and providing guidance on the implementation of IHL among others, were the responsibilities of the various National Committees of his outfit.
The Committees, Mr Kpan said, usually consisted of state institutions like security agencies including the police, military and fire service.
Giving an update on the activities of National IHL Committee of Ghana, Mr Cecil Adadevoh, a representative of the Ministry of Justice, stated that it was very important for treaties on certain weapons to be criminalised in the country, in case intra-war broke out.
“The fact that Ghana is a peaceful country does not mean we should relax when it comes to issues like this. Authorities must ensure there are laws to regulate the proliferation of all types of arms to avoid trouble in the incidence of war,” he advised.
BY RAISSA SAMBOU
