The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)/United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), have signed an Addendum to the 2009 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the 21^st of August, 2026 at the ECOWAS commission’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, marking a significant step towards strengthening cooperation on disarmament, arms control, non-proliferation, and armed conflict prevention in the ECOWAS Region.

The Addendum was signed following the ECOWAS–UNODA Strategic Dialogue on “Enhancing Cooperation Between ECOWAS Commission and UNODA/UNREC on Regional

Disarmament, Peace and Security.” The Strategic Dialogue brought together senior officials and technical experts from the ECOWAS Commission, UNODA and UNREC to reflect on the evolving regional security environment and identify opportunities for enhanced institutional and operational cooperation.

The signing builds upon the longstanding partnership established under the 2009 MoU and provides an updated framework for responding to contemporary and emerging disarmament and arms-control challenges. It reflects the commitment of the two institutions to deepen collaboration in light of significant changes in the regional and global peace and security environment since the conclusion of the original MoU.

Through the Addendum, ECOWAS and UNODA/UNREC reaffirmed their commitment to translate their institutional partnership into practical cooperation, through technical assistance, capacity-building, policy development, knowledge generation and exchange, regional consultations, information-sharing, joint programming and resource mobilization.

The ECOWAS Commission and UNODA/UNREC reaffirmed their determination to continue working together towards a safer and more peaceful ECOWAS region through effective disarmament, arms control, non-proliferation, conflict prevention and strengthened regional cooperation.