Towards a Safe and Secure Nation: The First Consultative Conference on Firearm Control, Ownership and Administration in Botswana, 13-15 May, 2003

National Focal points and National Action Plans by SaferAfrica
Mr Virginia Gamba

SaferAfrica is, above all, an implementing support agency. Our core function is to assist National Focal Points (NAPs) to improve their operational capacity and to generate and implement National Action Plans (NAPs) on Small Arms. In some cases, we also assist in the implementation of an agreed NAP. We undertake this alone or with our allies, Saferworld from the United Kingdom.

It is important, therefore, to understand the two basic pillars upon which a national implementation process stands: the constitution and operatio naIization of a national focal point on small arms; and the creation and implementation of a national plan of action.

These two items, the National Focal Point and the National Plan of Action on SmallArms, many believe rose to popularity following the July 2001 United Conference entitled United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects'. Of course the UNPoA being entitled as a Programme of Action, clearly would confirm this, and the mention of the National Focal Point as the recommended national implementation structure would further support this. However, for us on the African continent, both terms in relation to the prevention, management and resolution of small arms proliferation are rooted within processes preceding this United Nations Conference.

The National Focal Point

In November 2000, the Organisation of African Unity hosted a small arms conference in the city of Bamako, Mali. In this meeting the Bamako Declaration was formulated, which gave recognition to the comprehensive Action Plan approach to address small arms which was being utilized at both national and regional levels within Africa (quote para III):

'we recognize the progress made at national and regional levels in developing action programmes for the reduction, prevention and management of small arms and light weapons proliferation' At a national level, the Bamako Declaration stipulated that formulation of a national coordination structure. As follows member states should (quote para I, under the heading at a National Level):

'put in place, where they do not exist, national coordination Agencies or bodies and the appropriate institutional infrastructure responsible for policy guidance, research and monitoring on all aspects of small arms and light weapons proliferation, control, circulation, trafficking and reduction'. Although the words of the National Focal Point were not utilised, the concept was explicitly stated that a coordination agency be established where it did not exist to coordinate the actions within a region and a country in a systematic manner.

Similarly, certain of the African regional agreements on small arms cited, thus preceeding the Bamako Declaration, the concept of a coordination structure at a national level. These are traced back to:

The Nairobi Declaration adopted by the Ministers of the countries of the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa regions on 15 March 2000, and specifically its Coordinated Agenda for Action' and Implementation Plan; which made reference to (quote from section 1.2 on the institutional framework):
The SADC Declaration and Protocol' on Firearms and Ammunition and its Implementation Programme as discussed in August 2000; which made reference to (quote under item b on Operational Capacity,):

Of course it comes as no surprise that the African regional agreements lay the foundations of the thinking on National Focal Points and the National Action Plan approach since they preceded the Bamako Declaration, which was in fact the All Africa position taken to the UN Conference on Small Arms in July 2001.

African countries have been quick to constitute National Focal Points to drive their national small arms processes, as well as providing linkage agencies for regional initiatives. The first country on the African continent to develop their National Focal Point was the United Republic of Tanzania. In Tanzania the National Focal Point comprised both civil society role players as well as different governmental agencies. Both the composition of an official body comprising state and civil society members was novel in relation to small arms. However, since then this composition has been repeated numerous times.

It is important to state here that the mere creation of a National Focal Point does not guarantee effective action. It is important for the focal point - which is nothing more than an inter-agency committee to have a clear secretariat and lead agency; to have regular meetings and to be operationalized so as to take decisions and oversee implementation of an agreed workplan. When a national focal point is fully operative, it often takes the decision to commence a long-term

National Plan of Action

The establishment of an operative National Focal Point more often than not leads to the decision to generate a National Plan of Action. It is important to understand that a national plan is not a piece of paper produced in an office by a single individual. A national plan is the result of a process that can take up to between three and six months in producing a document that is finally approved by the Executive before it can be executed.

The NAP process is commenced by the NFP. The process usually consists of the following components:

Needs Assessment towards the formulation of a NAP:
National Assessment:
In order to develop the NAP, the NFP engages in a process referred to as the National Assessment or Mapping Process. The mapping process entails the systematic collection of information for the NFP to utilise in the analysis towards the generation of the NAP.

A mapping process comprises four main components:
1. Country report: This is largely a desktop study which provides a comprehensive overview of all facets of the case study country. It is mainly compiled with internet research. Information in the report is verified.
2. Population survey: This is a socioeconomic survey that is conducted at a district level with the country measuring key indicators about the population. The National Population Survey is conducted across all the regions in the country. The aim of the survey is to measure various socioeconomic indicators as well security indicators useful for the analysis of the impact of insecurity, firearms and crime on the ground in the country. These indicators really come into their own when providing information for the generation of the National Action Plan, particularly when prioritising the order in which the plan is implemented across the various regions in the country.
  During the formulation of the National Plan of Action, the statistical data collected from the population survey is used at a much more aggregated level, while during the implementation planning, the information is analysed at a more detailed level. The population survey also provides a base line study from which to, at a later date, measure the impact of the National Plan of Action and its implementation programmes. The conducting of a second and third survey at perhaps a three and five-year interval, could provide longitudinal information from which to gauge the impact of National Plan of Action.
3. Law Enforcement and Authorities Workshops: These are workshops conducted at a regional level in which information is collected from the relevant governmental agencies represented on the national focal point. The Law Enforcement Workshops are conducted at a regional level across the country. The participants to these workshops are all the regional representatives of the government departments represented at a national level. Information is collected through discussion groups in these workshops, and participants are asked to submit status reports in relationship to certain key security and firearm issues areas, as well as to provide a breakdown of their organisational capacity in the region. Supplementing these oral and written submissions, participants also complete an assessment survey which is used to compare to each other the conditions in the regions.
4. Civil society workshops: These are workshops which are conducted back to back to the law enforcement workshops or simultaneous to them and have as an aim to obtain information from civil society organizations and other interested parties at regional level. The workshop not only looks at how civil society perceives the problem, but also at the manner of solution that it is prepared to engage in, in collaboration with government once the NAP is established.

Formulation of the NAP:
The National Plan of Action is formulated by the National Focal Point in what is referred to as the Immersion Workshop. It is a workshop which lasts for approximately two weeks. It must be stipulated that the National Plan of Action is formulated in terms of the priorities faced by the country. It is formulated as a focused document with realistic and achievable outcomes, as opposed to being a broad scoping wish list of actions. The NAP, as achievable outcomes-based formulation, is tightly correlated to an implementation plan linked to a realistic funding schedule. The NAP is nothing more than a series of identified projects, each to take place within a timeframe and with one lead agency or civil society organization as chief implementation actor. These projects are coordinated to fit into the Plan.
Implementation of the NAP:
The National Plan of Action and its pursuant implementation plan usually has a five-year implementation schedule. The coordination agency for this is the National Focal Point, however they are at liberty to bring in a coordinator to deal with the daily implementation requirements.

In Africa the following countries have engaged in a NAP process: the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Uganda and the Republic of Kenya. I am sure the example of Tanzania is the best way to understand how a NAP operates.