Controlling the Circulation of Small, Light Arms : Giving Women Pride Of Place

Africa in general and Cameroon in particular is faced with contemporary security challenges. There are the Boko Haram insurgencies in the Far North Region, socio-political tensions in the North West and South West Regions, influx of refugees in the East Region, general highway robbery and other criminal activities. These crises unfortunately serve as a vector for the proliferation of small and light weapons. This negatively affects social peace and fuels tension with women and girls, more often than not, bearing the highest consequences. It is against this backdrop that the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC) in partnership with the Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace (CAMYOSFOP), organised a specialised training on the diplomacy of arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament. The two-week training that officially began yesterday September 11, 2023 at the IRIC campus is holding under the theme “Mainstreaming gender in the control of small and light weapons in Africa.” Participants are drawn from EIFORCES, ministries, UN Development Programme and civil society organisations and will be schooled on general and specific concepts on arms control. 
Presiding at the opening ceremony, the Director of Women’s Social Promotion at the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family, Martine Ongola, on behalf of the Minister said, the training adds to other measures taken by government to involve women in the peace building process in the country. With women participating as sources of information, partners in crime or suffering from sexual abuses and other social consequences, the Director said it was necessary for them to be highly involved in the process of limiting the circulation of arms. 
The Resident Representative of UNWOMEN Cameroon, Marie Pierre Raky Chaupin, who gave the keynote address at the event, noted that the circulation of arms in the wrong hands continue to spur conflicts in Cameroon and Africa. “Given the devastating impact, addressing it from a gender approach should be systematic...