Preface

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

So many seminars are now convened on small arms and light weapons control that the prospect of another, at first, may not have held out the promise of any new revelations on the subject. We hope, however, that this report shows that this particular meeting achieved more than rhetoric and, in fact, epitomised the spirit of practical EU-SADC co-operation in this area.

Small arms control has been firmly placed on the international agenda. There have been many positive statements on the issue by governments and regional organisations across the world. One of the most coherent approaches is articulated in the Southern Africa Regional Action Programme on Light Arms and Illicit Trafficking which emerged from a seminar hosted by the ISS and Saferworld in May 1998 (see Appendix 1).

The time has come to turn these words into action and to identify practical projects within the framework of the Action Programme which will make an impact on the proliferation of small arms in the region.

Indeed, the seminar gave rise to many important suggestions on practical projects and a pleasing degree of consensus on some priority areas for action. We hope that the proposals contained in the section on the concluding session will be seriously considered by governments in the EU and SADC and will provide a basis for practical joint action to tackle small arms proliferation in Southern Africa.

Paul Eavis Virginia Gamba
Director Head, Arms Management Programme
Saferworld Institute for Security Studies