STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR JS SELEBI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
49TH PUGWASH CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE AND WORLD AFFAIRS"CONFRONTING THE CHALLENGES OF THE 21 ST CENTURY"
KAROS SAFARI HOTEL, RUSTENBURG , SOUTH AFRICA
7-13 SEPTEMBER 1999
PANEL ON " AFRICA AND THE ARMS TRADE"
10 SEPTEMBER 1999 (11.30AM - 1.00PM)
"LIGHT WEAPONS AND CONFLICT IN AFRICA "
Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished participants in this Conference,
Pugwash found its origins in the concern about the development of nuclear weapons and the threat of annihilation which these posed. The Group's focus has, however, and importantly, not remained limited to nuclear weapons. Pugwash's role in the achievement of international peace and security has extended to the threats and devastation wrought by other weapons, including, in this context, by the indiscriminate use of small arms and light weapons.
While weapons of mass destruction threaten the peoples of the world with horrendous devastation through the use of single weapons, it is small arms and light weapons which have been the primary instruments of death and destruction. While the use of weapons of mass destruction have mainly been confined to certain conflict areas during the First and Second World Wars, and in certain regional conflicts, small arms and light weapons have been the daily weapons of choice in conflicts and criminal actions around the world. Globally it is estimated that there are more than 500 million small arms and light weapons in circulation.
These weapons include revolvers, self-loading pistols, rifles, assault rifles, light machine-guns, mortars, portable anti-tank missiles and landmines. Governments have been toppled and untold suffering has been inflicted on innocent civilians through their use. This has especially manifested itself in regional conflicts in Africa, such as in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Conflicts of the past in -- amongst others -- Mozambique and Liberia have left a legacy of thousands of unaccounted-for small arms and light weapons.
Confronted by this reality, the international community has realised that the devastation wrought by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons on socio-economic development generally, and specifically in the reconstruction of post-conflict societies, can no longer be ignored. Within the United Nations, the European Union, the Organisation of American States, the Organisation of African Unity and SADC important initiatives have been undertaken to address the problems associated with small arms proliferation.
Nationally, the South African Government is gravely concerned with the proliferation of and illicit trafficking in small arms, not only as it affects us within our own country in terms of crime, but also as it impacts on the achievement of the African Renaissance. Amongst the leaders of Africa and Southern Africa , there is also a concern that these weapons endanger the democratization initiatives which are presently being consolidated in the region.
Small arms are generally associated with conflict, but the reality has also shown that they are closely related to crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, stock-theft and robberies. This negatively affects socio-economic growth and inhibits foreign investment.
The South African Government has, therefore, declared the war against small arms (firearms) proliferation to be a priority for the South African Police Service. The Government's strategy to combat small arms proliferation nationally represents an integral and holistic approach. It does not only focus on the introduction of stricter control measures, but also on the eventual removal of causal factors such as unemployment, lack of education, poverty, etc. The objective of our approach is to reduce the number of illegal small arms in circulation, as well as to reduce the flow of illegal weapons into South Africa . It also concentrates efforts to ensure the lawful and proper use of licensed firearms. South Africa was one of the first States to announce a landmark decision in February 1999 to destroy stockpiles of surplus small arms rather than sell them on the open market, as was done previously. In this regard approximately 260 000 assault rifles will be destroyed.
In the context of the Department of Foreign Affairs' goal of promoting South Africa 's national interests and values abroad, the issue of small arms has attained a high priority in South Africa 's foreign policy. The Department's objective is to promote realistic and genuine endeavours to secure an international security environment in which the peoples of the world will not need to live with the threats of destruction and annihilation which have plagued them in the past.
To reinforce national action on small arms, the Department of Foreign Affairs came to the conclusion that it was imperative that a regional approach should be formulated so as to address the problem of small arms and light weapons. An approach which would be based on regional concerns, and which adopts an incremental approach. Internationally, such an approach will further ensure that as each region of the world develops an indigenous approach, the building blocks will be put in place to effectively deal with this issue globally.
To give effect to this policy conclusion, South Africa 's immediate international objective was to ensure that due recognition is afforded to this proliferation problem at the level of the United Nations (UN). South Africa has been supportive of, and has actively participated in, various UN initiatives on small arms. South Africa was a member of the UN Panel of Experts on Small Arms which wrote the first authoritative international report on small arms proliferation. South Africa also actively participated in the follow-up UN Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, and participated in the UN Study Group on Ammunition and Explosives. At the UN General Assembly Session of 1998 South Africa initiated a resolution on "Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms", which achieved consensus support of the Member States of the United Nations and has prepared the foundations for the urgent coordination of international efforts to combat illicit trafficking of small arms.
On the regional level the Department launched an initiative to build political momentum to address the issue of small arms proliferation at the level of the Organization for African Unity (OAU). This resulted in the OAU adopting at its Summit meeting in June 1998, its first ever decision on small arms. This mandated the OAU Secretary General to gather from Member States information on the extent of the problem. At the initiative of South Africa, the OAU, at the Assembly of Heads of States and Government, which was held from 12-14th July 1999 in Algiers, again called for a coordinated African approach to the problems posed by the illicit trafficking, circulation and proliferation of small arms, taking into account the regional experiences and activities in this matter. The OAU mandated the holding of an African Experts meeting on small arms.
Sub-regionally the Department has been actively supporting the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation's (SARPCCO) declaration on small arms which was adopted at its General Conference held in July 1999 in Swaziland. In terms of this declaration SARPCCO will endeavour to negotiate a Southern African instrument on small arms.
At the recently-held Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit held in Maputo , South Africa strongly supported a decision by the Council of Ministers to establish a SADC Working Group on small arms.
At the UN, OAU and SADC level the building blocks are in place to ensure that the issue of small arms proliferation, and the human suffering which this causes through conflict and crime, is properly addressed. The challenge now is to utilise these opportunities and to come up with practical solutions to this proliferation problem. This is to ensure that the threat and violence of these weapons no longer inhibit or prevent sustainable economic growth, prosperity and the achievement of the African Renaissance.
To achieve this objective and ensure practical progress on this issue in the new millennium it is important that the SADC decision to establish a working group on small arms and the SARPCCO declaration on small arms must be implemented. The aim should be the achievement of a sub-regional instrument on small arms and light weapons. This instrument should include issues pertaining to:
- The harmonisation of legislation;
- Destruction of surplus arms;
- Promote uniformity and strengthen legal provisions relating licensing, possession of and trading in small arms by civilians;
- Put into place adequate provisions that provide for confiscation and forfeiture by States of all arms and ammunition held or conveyed into the country without or in contravention of legal requirements;
- Establish controls over the accumulation of small arms and light weapons and associated military equipment, especially as this relates to illicit trafficking;
- Addressing the issue of a regional transparency mechanism, with reference to, amongst others, providing information on the transfers of these weapons and the illicit weapons confiscated;
- Improvement of capacity to monitor and to trace small arms and light weapons possession and transfer.
Figures provided in the 1996 publication on "World Military and Social Expenditure" state that in the conflicts which took place around the world between 1900 and 1995, a total of 109 745 500 people have been killed. Of these, in instances where separate figures were available, 62 194 000 were civilians and 43 920 000 were military personnel. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the figures for the same period of time are given as 9 121 500 in total, with 5 719 000 civilians and 1 605 000 military personnel. It is, however, important to note, when considering these figures, that in the same publication, it is made clear that the figures are not an accurate description of the situation we are currently confronted with. The situation has changed to where in 1995, more than 90 percent of all casualties in conflict situations are non-combatants. The same publication stated that in 1995 some 15,3 million people (refugees) were displaced, and according to the US Committee for Refugees, the number people in need of food, water, medical care and shelter had increased by over 50 percent when compared to the preceding decade. This is the dismal picture of the millennium which we are about to leave.
Light weapons, as the primary weapons of choice in conflicts in Africa (and in other parts of the World), which are delivering us the figures which I have just quoted, is therefore clearly a problem which can no longer be ignored and endured. This is not only because of the atrocious images which confront us on our television screens from time to time. It is because of the unimaginable horror and suffering which is being faced by thousands of faceless people who are confronted on a daily basis by the reality and not the image. We are duty bound -- we are obligated -- to reach out to these people who are the victims and not the causes of their suffering. Our commitment must be absolute and consistent, it must not be a passing concern which is stimulated only when we see the images of war.
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