By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT
Hon Abdoulie Ceesay of Old Yundum who happens to be the Deputy Majority Leader of the Sixth Legislature has disclosed to this medium that the Gambia Government has submitted a written commitment on the implementation of the United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution on weapons of mass destruction.
The UN Security Council Resolution 1540 which was adopted in 2004, states that “the Security Council decided that all States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery, in particular for terrorist purposes”.
The UN Security Council is composed of five permanent members including China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States; and ten non-permanent members including Algeria, Angola, Benin, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania and Spain.
Hon Ceesay is also Parliament’s Head of Delegation to Africa, Caribbeans, the Pacific and the European Union and also a member of the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) Member. The PGA website carried the news about the written commitment with the quotes below.
“The Gambia – PGA’s International Peace and Security Program warmly welcomes the written commitment made by The Government of the Republic of The Gambia on November 8th, 2022 to commence preparation and submission of its First National Report on Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) on Prevention of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction to Non-State Actors”.
“PGA also wishes to acknowledge the important advocacy, persistent outreach and parliamentary diplomacy conducted by PGA Member Hon Abdoulie Ceesay over a six-month period, culminating in this commitment”.
“The risk of gain of access to, manufacture and/or usage of WMD by terrorists or terrorist organizations has never been higher than it is in the uncertain world of today. UN Security Council Resolution 2325 (2016) specifically articulates the important role of Parliamentarians in seeking the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004). All UN Member States have a role to play in addressing this exponentially growing existential threat. I applaud the Government of the Republic of The Gambia for having taken this vital initial step,” said the Hon Deputy Majority Leader.
Speaking to the Hon member he revealed that he championed the advocacy for the Government to take a step towards implementing a convention ratified some 18 years ago.
According to a plenary meeting of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum West Africa Working Group (GCTF WAWG), which is co-chaired by Germany and Algeria “the security situation in West Africa is quickly deteriorating”. The forum which was held in Accra, Ghana from 21st to 23rd June 2022 revealed that “the Global Terrorism Index report for 2022 [highlights that] almost half of all terrorism deaths globally occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa”.
The publication adds that “the threat initially contained in the Sahel region has now spread east and southward towards coastal countries”. The worst-case scenario would be if such threats were armed with Weapons of Mass Destruction.
