Draft proposal for elements of a subregional action programme to combat small arms proliferation in Eastern Africa and the Greater Horn

Kampala Preparatory Meeting, 31 January – 1 February 20001

Organised by the Security Research and Information Centre (SRIC),
the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFRI), the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Saferworld.

Supported by the UK Department for International Development

A STRENGTHENING LEGAL CONTROLS ON WEAPONS POSSESSION AND TRANSFER

Regulating civilian ownership

Common criteria governing firearms licensing should be agreed at a subregional level. Firearms licences should be regularly reviewed and can be revoked. People with criminal records should be banned from ownership. All weapons must be securely stored and safes should be regularly inspected by police officers. There should be age restrictions placed on arms possession. There should be a prohibition on renting, lending, pawning and pledging firearms.



States should introduce harmonised, heavy minimum sentences for firearm crime and the carrying of unlicensed firearms.



Weapons held by private security firms should be registered and closely monitored by the police.



There should be a ban on the civilian possession of semi-automatic and automatic firearms.

Establishing a legal treaty

Countries should review and update national firearms legislation. Legislation should be harmonised at a subregional level into a subregional legal treaty or convention governing the possession, use, import, export and transit of small arms.



Governments should sign a legal agreement not to arm non-state actors and rebel groups in the subregion.

Marking

All small arms should be marked at the point of manufacture and import. These marks should be stamped on several parts of the weapon (for example, the slide, frame and barrel). They should state the name of the manufacturer, the place and year of manufacture and the serial number. Heavy penalties should be introduced for anybody found with unmarked firearms or firearms with obliterated serial numbers. The problem of non-unique markings and conflicting markings on different parts of the same weapon needs to be addressed.

4 Donor governments could be requested to assist with providing effective technology for marking weapons.

Controlling manufacturing

The manufacture of weapons without a licence should be banned. Replica firearms and toy guns should be banned.

Increasing transparency

Governments should develop a subregional arms register.

Regulating arms dealers and brokers

All independent firearms dealers must be licensed, registered and checked regularly and at random.



States should control the activities of commercial arms brokers.

Improving recordkeeping

Central firearm bureaux should keep registers of firearms holders, dealers, and stolen and recovered firearms. Records should preferably be computerised.

Controlling small arms transfers into the subregion

States should work with arms exporting countries to encourage the introduction of moratoria on small arms transfers into the subregion and ensure that any weapons supplied are accompanied by rigorous end-user certificates and controls.


Strict measures should be taken to enforce arms embargoes.

B ENHANCING OPERATIONAL CAPACITY TO COMBAT ILLICIT ARMS TRAFFICKING

Establishing a regional illicit trafficking database

Governments should create a regional database on illicit trafficking. This should include information on criminal groups and their associates, the types of firearms, sources, supply routes, destinations, methods of transportation and financial support of these groups. This database could be managed by the Interpol Subregional Bureau and could be accessed by the national police forces.

Enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies

Specialist training and equipment are required to enable law enforcement agencies in the subregion to combat illicit trafficking

4 Donor governments could be approached to provide training in database management, intelligence gathering, detection, firearms identification and ballistics.

4 Assistance should be given to build the capacity of law enforcement agencies through the provision of communications equipment and transport.

Improving co-ordination

National and subregional training programmes should be established to encourage co-ordination between the police, customs, immigration, border guards and other relevant agencies.

4 Donor governments could support seminars and training programmes bringing together key roleplayers at a national and subregional level.

Exchanging intelligence

A subregional system to facilitate intelligence exchange should be introduced.

Enabling effective investigation

Police powers of investigation, arrest and prosecution should be enhanced.

Strengthening border controls

Governments should tighten security along borders. Corruption at border posts should be tackled.

4 Donor governments could provide technical equipment such as scanners to help detect concealed arms shipments.

Establishing crossborder operations

States should undertake bilateral and subregional policing operations to combat crossborder crime. Protocols of co-operation could be introduced, covering extradition, investigation, recovery of exhibits and hot pursuit agreements. Regular meetings between neighbouring countries’ security forces, such as those in place between Kenya and Uganda, should be instituted.

Using information resources

Governments should draw on the resources of firearms research centres available in the subregion and further afield.

C REMOVING AND DESTROYING SURPLUS WEAPONS AND DEVELOPING EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

Demobilising and reintegrating former combatants

Governments should effectively demobilise and reintegrate former combatants and establish weapons collection programmes offering incentives such as food or community development projects in return for arms.

4 Donor governments should increase their support for demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration programmes.

Collecting and destroying surplus weapons

All weapons collected by the state should be immediately destroyed to prevent them from re-entering the illicit market. Weapons should preferably be destroyed in public.

Taking inventories of state-held small arms

All governments should be encouraged to take an inventory of their state-held small arms and light weapons and destroy all obsolete small arms and light weapons.

4 Donor governments and other donor agencies could be approached to provide technical and financial assistance in destroying surplus stocks.

Introducing public education programmes

Governments should introduce national and subregional education and awareness-raising programmes to reduce the demand for weapons. Measures such as working with the media, establishing community radio stations, providing cheap radios and poster campaigns should be introduced.

4 Donor governments could support awareness-raising initiatives.

Introducing community policing

Governments should introduce community policing programmes and encourage the police to work with communities to gain intelligence and support for small arms control initiatives.



Governments must guarantee the security of communities so that they do not feel the need to bear arms.

Protecting witnesses and sources

Governments should guarantee protection for witnesses and informants. Police officers who disclose confidential details about sources should be prosecuted.



Crime hotlines should be introduced with citizens’ calls being treated confidentially.

Working with community structures and civil society

Governments should explore ways of working with local community structures to ensure the responsible management and control of firearms.



Programmes run by civil society groups such as churches, women's groups and youth organisations to reduce the demand for arms should be supported.



Non-governmental organisations have an important role to play in providing research, mobilising popular support and advocacy.

4 Donor governments should provide financial support for civil society groups and independent research into small arms proliferation.

Integrating marginalised groups

Governments should introduce specific programmes to integrate marginalised groups into society, drawing them away from relying on arms for their economic survival.



Economic and social programmes are needed to address the problem of street families and children, considering the security threat posed by them.

Resolving conflicts

Political progress on conflict resolution must be pursued in tandem with measures to reduce the demand for arms.



Political incitement of violence should be banned.

D ENHANCING THE CAPACITY OF SUBREGIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

The following subregional institutions have a key role to play in the establishment and implementation of a subregional action programme. Their individual capacity and the co-ordination between them should be enhanced for this purpose.

East African Co-operation

The EAC security desk should become a permanent body and tasked with small arms control.



The East Africa Police Chiefs Conference should be formally recognised and its meetings should be included in the calendar of the EAC.



The East African Police Chiefs Conference should establish an expert working group on small arms.



The EAC should establish a regional legal treaty or protocol on firearms control.
EAPCCO



The ministers responsible for policing should meet after the police chiefs’ meeting to ensure political support for decisions.



EAPCCO should have a constitution which could provide for the establishment of protocols on issues such as search and seizure, the investigation of illegal firearms trafficking, extradition, etc.



The EAPCCO subcommittees should be operationalised.



EAPCCO should have a designated budget for small arms activities.



The links between Interpol and EAPCCO should be enhanced.



EAPCCO should formalise co-operation with other subregional bodies and have observer status at their meetings.



EAPCCO should be represented at international meetings on small arms.



EAPCCO should organise and run training programmes for police officers in the subregion.

Inter-Governmental Authority on Development

IGAD should play a role in combating the proliferation of small arms as part of its conflict prevention, management and resolution work.



IGAD has a key role to play in giving political support for efforts to tackle small arms. It can play a role in ensuring that proposals, agreed at the small arms conference organised by the Kenyan government, are implemented.



IGAD should develop links with the police chiefs in the subregion to assist in co-ordinating the political and operational levels of small arms initiatives.



IGAD should use the police in the subregion as a source of information for its proposed Conflict Early Warning Mechanism (CEWARN). It should be able to access the proposed database on illicit arms trafficking at the Interpol Subregional Bureau.



IGAD should emphasise the importance of disarmament and the destruction of surplus weapons in its conflict resolution and peace process initiatives.



As a development agency, IGAD should target economic and social development projects in volatile areas to help reduce the demand for arms and the potential for conflict, for example, by building dams to provide water for pastoralists. IGAD could also target food security programmes.



IGAD could establish and support weapons collection and exchange programmes.



IGAD could be a forum for information exchange on issues such as customs and border controls in order to encourage harmonised procedures throughout the subregion.



The IGAD Partners’ Forum should be utilised as a potential partner for small arms activities in the subregion. It provides an important link to the donor community and IGAD could request support for specific projects.



IGAD could co-ordinate political agreement on controls of weapons flows within the subregion, for example, a ban on supplying arms to non-state actors.

1 Participants were drawn from: the police forces of Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, the Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda; the Uganda Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the East African Co-operation; the Interpol Subregional Bureau; and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development. There was an observer from the Kenya High Commission in Kampala.