Accra Summit: Regional Leaders Call for "Integrated" Arms Control

Hon. Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, Ghana’s Deputy Minister for the Interior, has issued a powerful call for an integrated, politically-driven approach to

weapons management. Speaking at a high-level regional dialogue in Accra on February 4, 2026, Terlabi warned that the persistent proliferation of small arms continues to fuel extremism and organized crime across the Gulf of Guinea.

The two-day summit at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) brought together security experts and policymakers to bridge the gap between weapons regulation and ammunition management—two areas often treated as separate policy issues.

The Scale of the Crisis

The dialogue revealed sobering statistics about the volume of weapons currently circulating in the region and within Ghana’s own borders:

• Continental Reach: Africa hosts an estimated 40 million small arms and light weapons.

• West African Share: Approximately 11 million weapons are concentrated in the West African sub-region.

• The Ghana Profile: Ghana has roughly 2.3 million small arms in circulation.

• The "Invisible" Threat: Nearly half of the weapons in Ghana (1.1 million) are unregistered or untraceable.

Closing the "Ammunition Loophole"

A central theme of the 2026 dialogue is the "unlinking" of guns from their ammunition in current law. Air Vice Marshal David A. Akrong, Commandant of the KAIPTC, noted that while international efforts focus on guns, ammunition regulation is the "missing link" in sustaining armed violence.

Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns, emphasized that fragmented interventions are no longer sufficient. He advocated for:

• Africa Amnesty Month: Strengthening programs for the voluntary surrender of illicit arms.

• Integrated Architectures: Treating weapons and ammunition as a single, inseparable security priority.

• Faith-Based Engagement: Utilizing religious and community leaders as "agents of change" to discourage illicit ownership.

Ghana’s Proactive Stance

Deputy Minister Terlabi revealed that Ghana is not waiting for a regional consensus to act. The country recently concluded a National Gun Amnesty Programme (January 2026) and is actively drafting a new National Arms Act to replace the outdated 1972 legislation. These moves are designed to close the loopholes currently being exploited by cross-border criminal networks.

The Bottom Line

With 1.1 million unregistered weapons in Ghana alone, the Ministry of the Interior is pushing for a new National Arms Act and a unified regional strategy to treat ammunition management as a frontline tool for preventing violent extremism.