DYB2011-Part-II-web

United Nations Disarmament Yearbook 2011: Part II
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African Union
The African Union (AU) continued to address strategic issues that were
considered key to the maintenance of peace and security among its member
States.
In the fight against illicit SALW, the AU held a meeting of experts from
member States from 26 to 29 September in Lomé to consider the draft AU
Strategy on the Control of Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking
of Small Arms and Light Weapons, 24 and to elaborate an African Common
Position on an Arms Trade Treaty. The meeting adopted a draft Strategy.
Delegates also examined the draft African Common Position on the proposed
ATT and provided inputs to the document. The documents were reviewed
accordingly, and will be presented to the Executive Council for consideration
in June 2012.
The AU Commission and the United Nations conducted a joint security
sector reform training workshop for the Southern African Development
Community region in Harare, Zimbabwe, in March and held a meeting
of governmental experts of member States to consider the draft AU Policy
Framework on Security Sector Reform in Addis Ababa in May. The meeting
endorsed the amended AU Policy Framework, which was presented to the
Meeting of the Specialized Technical Committee on Defense, Safety and
Security, in October, and to the Pan-African Parliament in November and will
be presented to the AU Summit in 2012.
During the year, the AU Commission started a disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme in collaboration with the
World Bank Transitional Demobilization and Reintegration Program (TDRP)
and the DDR Section of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping
Operations (New York). The programme was a result of ongoing consultations,
which started in May, among the AU Peace and Security Department,
the TDRP, the DDR Section and the United Nations Office to the African
Union. Their common interest in fostering peacebuilding activities in Africa
prompted the three organizations to seek to harness their various experiences
by undertaking joint DDR activities.
Economic Community of West African States
With the technical support of the United Nations Regional Centre
for Peace and Disarmament in Africa and the financial contribution of
the Government of Austria, the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) Commission developed and adopted the Guide for the
Harmonization of National SALW Legislations in West Africa at a meeting of
governmental experts held in Lomé from 21 to 23 June.
24 Available from http://unrec.org/docs/Strategy%20Final.pdf (accessed 14 June 2012).