Youths reflect on curbing small arms circulation

A three-day workshop to sensitise youths on the illicit proliferation and abusive use of small arms ended in Yaounde on February 19.

Organized by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in partnership with the Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace (CAMYOSFOP) from February 17 to 19, 2015 in Yaounde, the workshop brought together Regional Presidents of the National Youth Council and youth associations to reflect on “mobilising Cameroonian youth against the illicit proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons in the country”.

According to the Executive Director of CAMYOSFOP, Eugine Ngalim Nyuydine, the workshop came at a crucial time when Cameroon is experiencing assaults from the nefarious Boko Haram terrorist group that is fueling the proliferation of small arms and light weapons into the country.

To him, the resolve by President Paul Biya backed by the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, to eradicate the insurgent group, is an added motivation for the campaign that targets youth who constitute 70 per cent of the population and who are more involved in either legal or illegal handling of arms.

The Yaounde workshop was concluded with a declaration wherein the youth reiterated their stance against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons while calling on the authorities to revise the 1973 Law on Small Arms and Light Weapons, amongst others.