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

The need for Regional coordination for the Implementation of Small Arms Initiatives by Mazambique
Mr M Jorge

Since 1998, countries in Southern Africa have all prioritized the prevention, combating, and eradication of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

The identification of small arms proliferation control emerged simultaneously across the region due to the negative effects of its accumulations in the region at the end of a protracted period of internal and external conflict. Arms that were no longer used by warring parties, such as those that remained in Mozambique at the end of the civil war, started to circulate in manners which impacted negatively the safety and security of people.

In 1999 the SARPCCO police chiefs issued a historic declaration on the problem and effects of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the Southern African Region.

At this time, Mozambique and South Africa, under the umbrella of the Crime Combat Agreement, had already commenced bilateral operations to identify collect and destroy illegal small arms available in Mozambican soil through the operations code-named "Rachel." It was by now clear that arms that caused problems in one country, were migrating to cause problems in other countries. For the same reason, it was equally obvious that no single government could undertake correction measures without sharing the information and asking for the support of its neighbours.

In this environment, the call of the police chiefs was heard and led to the creation of the existing SADC Protocol on the Control of Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials.

The SADC Protocol is a legally binding tool that is in the process of being ratified by the signatory countries and is expected to enter into force in late 2003.

While the countries in Southern Africa were busy undertaking bilateral operations for mopping up, such as the Operations Rachel I mentioned; and were busy creating a legal framework for cooperation through the SADC Protocol on Firearms, two other developments influenced the thinking and actions of the Region: the issuing of the OAU Ministerial Declaration on Small Arms at Bamako in 2000 and the signing of a United Nations Programme of Action on Arms in New York in 2001.

Today, the Southern African Regions benefit from the three crucial documents mentioned above which provide guidelines for action that are cooperative in character. It is possible to say of the three documents, that they all share in common the following recommendations:

The need for each country to establish a national coordinating body or national focal point for inter-agency debate and action on small arms issues.
The need for each regional organization to prioritize the support it gives to national action on arms and the construction of regional activities and initiatives to support arms control and disarmament in any one region acting as a Regional Focal Point.
The need for each country to commence long-term comprehensive processes to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects through the creation of sustainable and broad national plans of action for arms management and disarmament.
The need for each region to assist in the coordination and implementation of those activities that were particularly regional in character.

In fact, what is interesting of the three documents is that they have a clear reference as to the obligations and recommendations that each Member State can undertake nationally and a clear reference to the regional activities and coordination that is needed to be put in place by regional organizations.

In Southern Africa, the SADC Protocol provides for minimum standards that need to be processed nationally on issues concerning regulation, operational capacity and reduction of the problem. Here minimum standards on the law and the enforcement of the law on all aspects of arms are indicated clearly.

At regional level there is a long list of activities that have a regional component which a region acting together can undertake, like the exchange of information mechanisms, the cooperation in border controls and the fight against transnational organized crime, to name but a few.

It follows that the SADC Protocol has both national commitments and regional frameworks that need to be serviced simultaneously.

In pursuit of national commitments, for example, the government of Mozambique has continued to undertake dedicated activities of which the most important today are the national decision to create a national coordinating body or focal point and the decision of the focal point to commence a long term National Plan of Action to prevent, combat and eradicate the problem of arms proliferation in Mozambique. The United Republic of Tanzania, as we have just heard, is busy with implementing just such a plan.

Nevertheless, countries as recommended in theory and as seen in practice, cannot and should not act alone. No matter how many regulations and mechanisms are put in place in one country, ultimately the manner in which this country communicates with others on this issue must also be regulated, since the illicit trade in arms crosses over many borders.

In SADC, the SADC Protocol indicates that an oversight body or implementing committee to oversee the implementation would be set up. The regional focal point in creating the SADC Protocol was the SADC Group of governmental experts which mandated the SARPCCO legal subcommittee to draft the Protocol. Once the Protocol was approved, SADC mandated SARPCCO as the implementing agency for this Protocol and SARPCCO has now developed a work plan with several actions for all those issues that are regional in character.

What type of issue is a regional issue in the implementation of a Protocol? Obviously countries need to consult on common approaches and common minimum standards that will guide the review of their legislation, identify common capacity building needs, common procedures for border and arms controls, and a common mechanism for joint actions and exchange of information. For this the SARPCCO Permanent Coordinating Committee and the Legal and Training Subcommittees are the leading bodies.

For instance, at the Regional Level some priorities of the Action Plan on SADC Protocol on Firearms can be identified as follows;

Law Enforcement (Joint Operations and Intelligence Exchange) to exchange intelligence and conduct Joint Operations to tackle the proliferation of illicit small arms;
Project/Standard Operating Procedures to devise standard operational procedures for conducting cross-border operations and destruction of firearms;
Mutual Legal Assistance to ensure the legal infrastructure adequately supports the rendering of Mutual Legal Assistance in matter relating to firearms.

At the National Level some of the priorities are:

Creation of National Focal Points to coordinate implementation at the National Level;
Develop National Training Programmes on Joint Operations to prepare operatives for Joint Operations against illicit firearms in the Region;
Public Awareness and Education Programmes to enhance public involvement and support in tackling illicit possession and trafficking.

The coordination process in the field of firearms is of such importance that recently the Council of Police Chiefs throughout a Resolution, urged Member States to address the future of Joint Operation in the Region, in order to improve their quality and frequency.

In the same framework, Saferworld and SaferAfrica are currently undertaking a study of SARPCCO's Joint Operations to analyse how they could be adapted to specifically tackle the small arms and light weapons' issue in the future.

As you may be aware the illicit trafficking and proliferation of firearms is a multidimensional problem when it comes to the relationship among manufactures, suppliers, traders, brokers and users - a lot has been done by the International Community in order to tackle the problem but much more has to be done not only by putting in place appropriate measures but by taking effectives actions to control and refrain the production of firearms.

Those are actions that needed to be considered at the international level, such actions will facilitate regional and national coordination efforts, fostering investigation and make the identification of small arms trafficking routes easier.

The conjunction of the coordination efforts both regionally and nationally can effectively work if Member States more and more commit themselves to tackle the illicit trade and proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the Region. This goal is only feasible with the ratification and implementation of the SADC Protocol on the Control of Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials.