Control Arms Coalition Activities to Encourage Accession to the ATT in Cameroon

18/02/2017
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18/02/2017
Activity description

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF-Cameroon), Cameroon Youth and Students’ Forum for Peace (CAMYOSFOP), Ecumenical Service for Peace (SeP), and Women’s Peace Initiative (WPI) partnered together on a series of events including advocacy meetings, a press conference, a youth caravan, and an ATT workshop. This series of activities were launched by a press conference and interactive radio program, which called for the Treaty’s universalization and raised awareness about armed violence. The youth caravan, which coincided with the National Youth Day, brought together over 3,000 youths calling on the Cameroonian government to complete the ATT ratification process, to implement the Kinshasa Convention in Central Africa on SALW, and to establish a National Commission on SALW (NCSALW) with the involvement of civil society. Using this momentum, the organizers hosted a workshop, which provided participants with in-depth understanding about the Treaty’s provisions, its synergies with regional protocols as well as its potential to reduce armed violence in the region. It also briefed participants about the outcome of the second Conference of States Parties (CSP2015) and the preparatory process for the 2016 Conference of States Parties (CSP2016). The twenty civil society organizations from Cameroon and Central Africa who attended the workshop also discussed the contribution of women in promoting peace and particularly their role in the fight against weapons proliferation in Cameroon. The workshop concluded with the adoption of an advocacy document to support the Treaty’s ratification and the creation of the National Commission for SALW.

Project description

The #ArmsFreeAfrica campaign, a signature focus for Control Arms in 2016, is intended to help reduce the damaging effects of violence caused by the poor regulation of arms transfers in Africa. Its goals are to raise the profile of the threat posed by armed violence, support further universalization and effective implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in Africa and raise the profile of African Control Arms coalition members. Building on Nigeria’s position as President of the second Conference of States Parties to the ATT (CSP2016), the #ArmsFreeAfrica campaign seeks to highlight the related problems of armed violence and chronic, cyclical conflict in Africa.

Type of Activity
Sensitization and outreach
Focus of Activity
International instruments
Transfer controls
Partners
Cameroon
Implementers
Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace (CAMYOSFOP)
Control Arms
Ecumenical Service for Peace (SeP)
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
Women’s Peace Initiative (WPI)
Donors
Control Arms
Contact Details

Control Arms Secretariat
Address: 205 East 42nd Street, 20th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Telephone: +1 (212) 687-3146
Email: info@controlarms.org
Website: http://controlarms.org/en/

Cameroon Youth and Students’ Forum for Peace (CAMYOSFOP)
Eugine Nyuydine, Executive Director
Telephone: +237677329361
Email: ngalimeug@yahoo.com