Implementing the Southern Africa Regional Action Programme: Ideas for Practical Project Support

---

Published in Towards implementation of the Southern African Regional Action Programme on Light Arms and Illicit trafficking

8-9 September 1999
Pretoria, South Africa

Seminar report

edited by Andrew McLean and Elizabeth Clegg

Discussions to identify practical projects under the framework of the Southern Africa Regional Action Programme were held throughout the course of the two day seminar.¹

The following ideas for practical projects which lend themselves to potential support from the EU, its member states, and other interested governments and organisations emerged during the discussions and received widespread support among the participants.

These ideas can be categorised under four broad themes:

The suggestions are discussed below under the focal points addressed in sessions and workshops during the seminar.

Operational aspects of tackling illicit arms trafficking

Enhancing the capacity of the police

Support is necessary for the strategic co-ordination and planning function of SARPCCO through assistance for capacity-building and support for the development of a co-ordinated action plan for the region.

Training programmes could be developed for police forces to standardise operating practices across the countries in the region. For example, SARPCCO has developed training courses for border controls and intelligence-sharing (with Interpol) which could receive support. Some countries cannot afford to send their police officers on such courses, and assistance could be provided to allow people to attend.

Training and capacity-building are needed to develop specialised firearms and illicit trafficking units within SADC member states. A number of Southern African countries lack the necessary expertise and technical capacity in crucial firearms-related areas such as ballistics. One possibility could be to establish a regional police training centre which is responsible for information-sharing and co-ordinating capacity-building.

Strengthening the capabilities and facilitating co-operation between agencies across the region

Technical assistance is necessary to enhance the capacity of customs and border guards. This could include the provision of training and equipment (such as mobile phones and vehicles). The cost benefit of providing container scans for key entry points should be investigated.

Training programmes are required for the judiciary on the impact of illicit small arms trafficking. These could encourage a more effective approach to firearm-related offences and result in improved enforcement.

Programmes are needed to facilitate increased national and regional co-operation between the police, customs officials, border guards and the judiciary, and to enhance the capacity of joint operations. To date, such operations have mostly involved crossborder co-operation by the police in the region.

Encouraging information exchange

Maximising the capacity of SADC member countries to utilise the existing Interpol IWETS database which logs information on firearms used in crime is a key priority. Some countries lack the capacity – in technical and manpower terms – to make full use of this resource.

The establishment of a separate regional database under SARPCCO for collating and storing information associated with the flows of small arms could also be useful. This could log information on all illicit arms flows of concern, not just on weapons that are used in crime. National co-ordination centres could be established with a dedicated, trained person who is responsible for capturing information on illicit firearms.

Encouraging intelligence exchange

Although most SARPCCO operations have been resource-led, there is a growing realisation of the need to turn them into intelligence-led operations (as Operations Rachel were). Yet, there is still a reluctance in the region to pool intelligence on arms flows, smuggling operations and weapons caches. The importance of sharing information needs to be reinforced at the political and operational level. The heads of criminal intelligence services in the region have been asked to propose ideas for more joint operations and donors could support this process.

Responsible stockpile management and destruction of weapons surplus(es)

There is a need to develop a co-ordinated programme by SADC member states to ensure that all weapons in their territories are adequately marked, securely stored and that up-to-date records are maintained. Technical assistance could include the provision of technology for marking weapons and constructing databases.

Technical assistance is needed for SADC countries to enable them to conduct a thorough audit of their inventories of national arms holdings (including all weapons held by the military, the police and other security forces). If such audits take place, they will present an important opportunity for countries to register and mark weapons in their possession. Technical and financial support will be needed for this.

Support will be needed for the maintenance of accurate and up-to-date records of civilian ownership and government stocks. The creation of a central computerised firearms register in each member state is an important objective for which technical and financial support will be required.

The establishment of a system is necessary to facilitate the destruction of seized and surplus stocks. This should include a system for verifying and monitoring the destruction of weapons. Donor assistance could include the provision of technology for the destruction of seized weapons in all SADC countries.

Police-community relations on tackling illicit trafficking

The development of a procedural manual could be useful for police forces when conducting operations on the ground. One important aspect could look at how to stimulate and reward community involvement.

The development of creative approaches in tackling illicit firearms trafficking is necessary. For example, ‘Captain Crime-Stop’ in South Africa is a model that could be extended and developed to increase the involvement of the public in tackling illicit arms trafficking and use.

Policies to address the enhancement of legal controls over weapons possession and transfer

Reviewing domestic firearms legislation and developing a common policy

A comprehensive review by all SADC governments of their firearms legislation (including controls over the possession, production, export, import, transit, brokering and end-use of arms) could be supported through the provision of technical assistance and expertise.

The development of a regional small arms policy would represent important progress in controlling legally held firearms, and preventing and combating illicit small arms trafficking. One option could be to fund the commissioning of research to conduct a comparative analysis of best practice across regions, such as those represented by the OAS and the EU.

The assessment of legitimate defence needs and associated requirements for national holdings of small arms – to prevent destabilising accumulations in the SADC region – could be supported by technical and financial assistance. This could include the provision of computer modelling programmes and support for regional confidence-building seminars which might bring together key roleplayers such as SADC, SARPCCO and the ISDSC.

Encouraging the harmonisation of controls

There is a need for the establishment of a mechanism for sustained and co-ordinated information exchange between Southern African countries on firearms legislation and regulation. The EU could provide technical and financial assistance for such a process and could support a seminar under the auspices of the SARPCCO legal subcommittee to explore how and what information can be exchanged.

Many SADC countries may require assistance in order to harmonise controls. For example, some countries may welcome assistance in drafting legislation, whereas the primary needs in other countries may be for assistance in implementing legislation through, for example, training for ballistics experts.

The development of an effective regional mechanism of import, export, end-user and end-use certificates could be supported. All the countries in the region are potential suppliers of small arms, yet current controls are inadequate. SADC countries are about to implement a regional certification system for vehicle registration. Watermarked certificates will be lodged at the Interpol bureau in Harare. The development of a parallel system for the registration and transfer of small arms should be pursued. Prenotification of transfers between countries in the region would also be an important step.

Establishing national firearms bureaux

The establishment of a national firearms bureau in each SADC member state will require technical and financial assistance. Such bureaux could be responsible for co-ordinating national policy and could also facilitate regional harmonisation by becoming contact points for networking and policy development.
Supporting Southern African involvement in international negotiations

The participation of SADC countries in the UN firearms protocol negotiations needs to be increased. At present, few countries can afford to attend and lend their experience to the discussions.

Increased participation of Southern African governments in the firearms protocol negotiations might also assist in the development of a regional protocol in Southern Africa. Progress at the regional level, in turn, could allow the expression of Southern African needs and priorities at international negotiations in view of the 2000 OAU conference and the 2001 UN conference on small arms.

Removing weapons from society

Improving police-community relations

The establishment of community-police forums where local communities and police can meet to discuss small arms proliferation and firearms controls could be supported by EU governments. Such structures are important parts of building trust and helping local people engage with the police and to assist in identifying priorities for action on illicit small arms and to encourage responsible management of licit firearms.

Enhancing community involvement in tackling small arms proliferation

Awareness campaigns are required to encourage popular support for joint policing operations, stimulate wider participation in collection programmes and reduce local demand for weapons as tools for conflict resolution.

A series of seminars could be supported to engage the ‘silent’ roleplayers in communities, such as women, churches, youth and cultural workers. SADC has a gender unit which is already doing some work on child soldiers and, with support, its work could be extended to other areas. Many church groups are already engaged in these issues.

The development of community radio programmes dealing with small arms issues and addressing cultures of violence is an important possibility. Two existing structures could be enhanced – UNESCO’s community radio project and SADC radio which currently broadcasts for an hour, twice a week across the region. NGOs and community groups could be encouraged to develop collaborative radio projects throughout the region.

Research to survey local community attitudes towards small arms is an important part of engaging with communities and could be supported by donors. Such research could help to identify key areas and actors to receive resources.

Developing the Operations Rachel model

Since most of the arms remaining hidden in the Mozambique countryside are some distance from the South African border area, the extension of Rachel operations further north in Mozambique should be supported.

The development of bilateral operations (based on the Rachel experience) between other countries in the region should be explored, particularly in relation to countries that are, or are likely to become major sources of illicit arms when peace is established. Research on arms flows and caches is necessary to target future joint operations on weapons seizures.

A co-ordinated and well-resourced programme is required to reward and sustain work being done in communities that have assisted in identifying illicit arms caches and shipments. Rewards should preferably be given to communities and not to individuals and, in this regard, the possibility of undertaking community development programmes (along the lines of the Gramsh project in Albania) should be explored.

General recommendations

Improving partnership co-ordination

There is a need for a mechanism through which SARPCCO and SADC officials and NGOs can approach donors for assistance in projects and through which research, operational, training and capacity-building needs can be matched to the types of support donors can offer. The EU-SADC working group should seek to develop such a mechanism. One possibility is to establish a small arms fund for projects in the SADC region with clear guidelines on the types of assistance available and criteria outlining the circumstances in which it may be provided.

Defining the role of the EU-SADC working group

It was suggested that the joint EU-SADC working group on small arms could be a forum to discuss the priority needs of the region and assist with co-ordination both within and between SADC and the EU. It could develop a joint strategy for the implementation of the Action Programme and help to shape possible projects for support. The working group should also be used for guidance, feedback and the evaluation of projects.

Providing emergency assistance

Agreement should be reached on preventive measures to stem the likely mass proliferation of small arms throughout the region when war eventually ends in Angola and the DRC. One step would be for donor governments to support the creation of a technical team (taskforce) of SADC/SARPCCO officials who could enter Angola and the DRC at an early stage during peace talks to make an assessment of disarmament, peacekeeping, legal and policing needs. Resources such as training and equipment would be needed to support the group, and its technical capacity should be enhanced through wide consultations with experts who have been involved in similar missions in other post-conflict situations.