Namibia National Action Plan 2005

PREFACE TO THE NAMIBIA NATIONAL ACTION PLAN

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The Government of Namibia established a National Focal Point (NFP) on Small Arms and Light Weapons following a decision in 2003. The National Focal Point agreed to conduct a comprehensive national assessment of the small arms and light weapons problem in Namibia. The National Action Plan for Arms Management and Disarmament has been developed on the basis of the information collected during the national assessment.

As a signatory to the SADC Protocol on Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials, Namibia must comply with a set of standard measures developed at the Southern African regional level. As a signatory to the various international agreements on small arms control, including the Bamako Declaration on an African Common Position on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Bamako Declaration) and the UN Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UNPoA) Namibia has a number of obligations to the international community. These obligations are summarized in Annex A to the Namibia National Action Plan which indicates how the NAP will assist Namibia in meeting the requirements of these agreements.

The National Action Plan was formally approved by the Cabinet of Namibia in November 2005. The NAP will be presented to the Namibian public and to potential donors at a national launch conference on 14 April 2005 in Windhoek. The period between the launch of the National Action Plan and the commencement of the implementation process of the Plan will be between six and nine months. During this period activities to prepare the country for implementation will be under taken as presented in Annexure B.

The National Action Plan’s format mirrors that of other SADC member states that are engaged in similar processes. Due to the formalities of the SADC Protocol and other agreements on small arms control including the Bamako Declaration and the UNPOA, the Namibia National Action Plan follows a standard format that identifies the pillars upon which action should be taken. The pillars and the objectives of all similarly situated countries are presented in compatible and comparable form to facilitate the harmonization of the implementation of the regional and international obligations. The specific needs of each country, as identified during the national assessment, are addressed within the tasks presented under each objective. The specific tasks were therefore developed following analysis of the results of the population survey, the law enforcement workshops and the civil society workshops undertaken during the Namibia Assessment in 2004.

A schedule of activities to implement the tasks, and their associated costs, has been developed with particular reference to year one of activities and with broad reference to years two to five. Each year the National Focal Point will review progress and costing. For budgetary purposes and to assist in the procurement of funds from donors, the activity and cost schedule is added to this document, although it will be subjected to periodic reviews and time and cost adjustments. This is presented as Annex C.
The National Action Plan for Namibia is therefore made up of four documents:

a. The Plan
b. The list of common international and regional obligations (Annex A)
c. The Activity and Costing Schedule of the Implementation Preparation months (Annex B)
d. The Activity and Costing Schedule for the Plan for five years (Annex C)

In this publication we present to you the National Action Plan on the small arms and light weapons which represents the culmination of wide-spread national information collection and analysis processes to develop a comprehensive and tailor-made strategy to manage small arms in Namibia.