Banjul, Bamako Host ECOSAP Cluster Meetings on Small Arms

Banjul and Bamako, capitals of The Gambia and Mali respectively will host to cluster meetings on the effective control of small arms and light weapons on the 23rd-24th June and 29th-30th June 2009.

The meetings according to officials, was sponsored by the ECOWAS Small Arms Programme (ECOSAP) is aim to identify armed violence reduction projects in members states.

The forum will also update, review, and plan NATCOMS activities in line with the benchmarks that were set in the work plan.

The meeting will build skills of participants to improve on narrative report writing, drafting of project proposals and development of activity workplans.

Participants at the meeting will include two members from each NATCOM, the UNDP focal point, one representative from the civil society and staff of ECOSAP.

In order to give effective technical backstopping to the NATCOMS and the civil society, ECOSAP had split the ECOWAS members states into four clusters.

Cluster A include Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Guinea Conakry.

In Cluster B you have Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana.

The C Cluster comprises of Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Senegal while Cluster D is made up of Benin, Cote d I'vore, Togo and Nigeria.

The meetings for Cluster B and D, will hold in Monrovia and Lome respectively, although dates are yet to be fix for this two cluster meetings.