UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- There is an urgent need for a rejuvenated fight against trafficking in small arms, a top Nigerian diplomat said at the General Assembly here Monday, stressing the ties between that trade and piracy and oil smuggling in the Niger Delta.

    "The proliferation of small arms in West Africa is fast turning the region into a major transit point for illicit drugs, thus also facilitating the growth of criminal syndicates, some with enough firepower to challenge a nation's military force," Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe said while addressing the Assembly's annual high-level debate.

    He appealed to the international community to check the scourge by implementing existing agreements, as well as creating new and legally binding ones.

    Stepped-up efforts are needed to achieve the goal of "preventing, combating and eradicating illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, and regulating the transfer of conventional weapons in general," the minister said.

    He expressed support for fully implementing the 2001 United Nations Programe of Action on Small and Light Weapons, which calls for international cooperation and assistance to strengthen the ability of States in identifying and tracing illicit arms and light weapons.