Controlling small arms and light weapons in Kenya and ... - Saferworld

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1Introductiona c c o r d i n g t o n a t i o n a l r e p o r t s submitted to the United Nations Office forDisarmament Affairs, as of 2005 at least 89 countries worldwide had establishedNational Commissions for the control of small arms and light weapons (SALW),while 133 countries had nominated a National Point of Contact. 1 While the overallnumber of commissions already established appears encouraging, the mandate andeffectiveness of these institutions may vary significantly from one country to another. 2The establishment of effective co-ordination bodies is a crucial first step towards thedevelopment and implementation of national SALW control strategies that effectivelyaddress small arms proliferation. 3This working paper is written against a background of continued formation of nationalco-ordination mechanisms for the control of SALW globally and the persistentquestion as to whether existing and emerging structures are living up to expectations.It assesses the achievements and challenges faced by two such structures, namely theNational Focal Points for SALW (NFPs) control in Kenya and Uganda, while alsoexamining the record of a supporting regional body, the Regional Centre on SmallArms (RECSA). Preliminary conclusions and recommendations are drawn at theend of the paper targeting RECSA, the two governments and also external actors likedonors and civil society. A combination of desk research and selected interviews withNFP staff and external stakeholders informed the research.Kenya and Uganda have been selected for analysis because they were among the firstcountries in the East African region to establish co-ordination bodies following agreementof the Nairobi Declaration on the Problem of the Proliferation of the Illicit SmallArms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa (the ‘NairobiDeclaration’) in the year 2000 and as such have had sufficient time to demonstrateboth successes and failings. The paper does not claim to be a comprehensive study onthe effectiveness of NFPs in the region as this would require more substantial researchand many more case studies. It does however provide an overview of the issues affectingSALW control efforts in the region which can be built on in subsequent research.1 Kytömäki E and Yankey-Wayne V, Five Years of Implementing the United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms andLight Weapons: Regional Analysis of National Reports, (United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, Geneva, 2006),www.unidir.org/pdf/ouvrages/pdf-resume92-9045-181-5-en.pdf, 13 April 2011.2 United Nations Development Programme, How to Guide The Establishment and Functioning of National Small Arms andLight Weapons Commissions, (Geneva: Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, 2008).3 South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearing House for the Control of SALW, Guide to RMDS/G, 1.10 4th Edition (SEESAC,2006b), www.seesac.org/resources/RMDS%2001.10%20%20Guide%20to%20RMDS%20(Edition%204).pdf,13 April 2011.
2Origins and mandate ofSALW control structuresp r i o r t o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f s a l w s t r u c t u r e s in East Africa likeRECSA and the Kenya and Uganda NFPs, SALW initiatives were largely under thedockets of foreign affairs ministries and law enforcement agencies at regional andnational levels. At the regional level, the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs CooperationOrganisation 4 founded in 1998 and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Developmentwere particularly active in peace and security issues.The establishment of the various SALW control structures can therefore be seen asan offshoot of various international and regional initiatives that emerged around theworld in the late 1990s as the lethality of SALW became more appreciated. SALWproliferation was initially given attention by the United Nations through the SecretaryGeneral’s 1995 Agenda for Peace, with a focus on ‘micro-disarmament’. Subsequently,SALW initiatives were initiated by the United Nations, individual governments,regional and sub-regional organisations and non-governmental organisations. InAfrica, an African Union heads of government meeting adopted a decision concerningco-operation in the search for solutions to the problems posed by the proliferation ofSALW in Africa. At the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Governmentsheld in Algiers, from 12–14 July 1999, the Summit endorsed the holding of aContinental Conference of African Experts on Small Arms in 2000. The signing ofthe Nairobi Declaration on 15 March 2000 was followed nine months later by that ofthe Bamako Declaration on an African Common Position on the Illicit Proliferation,Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (‘Bamako Declaration’).The Bamako conference (and Declaration) in 2000 developed an African CommonPosition on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of SALW in preparationfor the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in SALW in All its Aspects from 9–20 July2001 in New York.The above initiatives all underscore the importance of establishing regional andnational bodies to co-ordinate action against illicit SALW proliferation 5 and providethe mandate for NFPs. They include the United Nations Programme of Action(UNPOA) 6 , the Nairobi Declaration, the Nairobi Protocol 7 and the Bamako4 East Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation’s mandate of joining police efforts against trans-national and organisedcrime, qualifies it to address SALW-related security concerns.5 Recently, the UN has embarked on developing International Standards for SALW Control (ISACs), which include standardsrelated to national co-ordinating mechanisms on SALW control. However, the various UN ISACs are work in progress and donot yet constitute UN international standards on SALW control.6 United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in SALW of July 2001.7 Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of SALW in the Great Lakes Region, Horn of Africa and theBordering States signed in April 2004 and entered into force, following ratification by two-thirds of its signatories, in May 2006.
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