MISSING PIECES - Inter-Parliamentary Union

ANNEX 8
will take place; and when each activity is due to be completed. This will
make it easier to determine whether the NAP is being implemented effectively
or at all. Importantly, a timeframe (typically five years) and budget
must also be determined.
The initial plan may be limited due to a lack of the information necessary
to develop a comprehensive strategy. Nevertheless, this may be more
useful and appropriate than waiting until all the information necessary
for a truly comprehensive NAP is collected, as this can be a costly exercise
in terms of time and money, and by the time such information is collected,
it may have ceased to be relevant or accurate. For this reason, NAPs should
be constantly evolving to respond to changing circumstances. In some
cases, an Implementation and Verification Plan will be developed once
the NAP has been finalised, to ensure that NAP activities are monitored
and adjusted where necessary.
Each NAP will have to respond to particular circumstances. In Haiti,
for instance, the main issue is urban gang violence in a context of weak
state capacity where the communities will be called in to help manage
the problem. The Haitian ‘National Strategy for Disarmament, Violence
Reduction and Community Security’ (December 2006), therefore, calls
for diagnostic studies and Community Action Plans to be developed for
seven urban neighbourhoods initially, with a view to developing such
plans for a total of 16 areas. A budget has been allocated to the development
of these action plans, and the Strategy stipulates that each Community
Action Plan will contain details of the violence reduction needs according
to four dimensions of intervention: security; infrastructure; services
and human development.
Parliamentarians can assist in the development of NAPs and the mapping
phase in particular. They are well positioned to help raise awareness
of the process and communicate with their constituents regarding their
participation in the survey process and its importance in obtaining an
accurate picture of the small arms problem and its impact. Additionally,
parliamentarians have access to information regarding which government
departments and enforcement agencies have a role to play in national arms
control, and their capacity to implement activities under an NAP. Furthermore,
parliamentarians can assist in the process of ensuring that national
firearms legislation is adapted to reflect NAP priorities identified through
the mapping exercise.
Regional cooperation will also be important to ensure the sustainability
of an effective NAP and to avoid displacing the problem into neighbouring
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