Uganda National Focal Point 2004-2008

Introduction

The Ugandan National Action Plan for Arms Management (NAP) is a three-year implementation project that involves all sectors of Ugandan society and seeks to prevent, control and eradicate the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons in Uganda and the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa. The Ugandan National Action Plan has been developed through a thorough and comprehensive process of research and planning, active engagement with all stake holders in government, regional and international arms control initiatives and close consultation and collaboration with civil society. This comprehensive approach to the development and subsequent implementation of the Ugandan National Action Plan has ensured that this initiative will be both effective and sustainable in the medium to long term. Implementation commenced on 1st of July 2004.

The Great Lakes Region of Africa has been at the hub of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons throughout Central, Southern and Eastern Africa. For the past fifty years the fallout from decolonisation and the struggle for liberation of African peoples has impacted on security and development in the region. Compounding this instability have been the proxy wars and political machinations of the Cold War that have been played out on the battlegrounds and the logistical bases and support mechanisms for these conflicts. The legacies of decolonisation and the Cold War eras included both positive and negative effects. Soon after liberation many of the nations in the region got embroiled in civil war and strife as political ambition overtook common sense and one violent change of government after the other destabilised the region and released more and more tools of violence into society. Resource based conflicts soon replaced political based conflicts, and personal gain and greed became the driving factor for some of the wars that are still raging through the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa. These conflicts impact seriously on the human security and potential for development in the region.

Some of the most negative effects of this political instability and conflict are the arsenals of arms and ammunition and the armies of trained and partly trained soldiers, with few skills other than military, which were left over from these conflicts. Lured by the potential profits from armed crime and violence, and with no real economic future or stable income many of these combatants destabilised the region even further through banditry, organised crime and collective violence. Sloppy demobilisation and disarmament processes, lack of control and weak law enforcement ensured that most of these tools remained residual in society. The long shelf life of small arms and the abundance of ammunition have created a destabilising dynamic all of their own.

The majority of illicit small arms in the region are old stocks from conflicts of past that are recycled from conflict area to conflict area to crime, continuing their existence of destruction of the lives of ordinary citizens and communities in the region.

New stocks are entering the region through:

Imports and transfers that are exploiting loop-holes in existing legislation.
The lack of effective sub-regional law enforcement architecture and a comprehensive strategy to control stocks that are already circulating in the region.
Lack of policy and administrative procedure to reduce and destroy illicit weapons as they are captured and seized.

Figure 1: Remnants of war an important source of illicit SALW in the region.

Why Uganda?

Given the complexity of the sources of illicit arms both in the region and Uganda a thorough plan of action to reduce and eradicate this proliferation was deemed necessary. Moreover, the pressing need for comprehensive action is heightened by the strategic importance of Uganda as a pivot in the struggle against crime, terror and illicit arms in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa.

A number of factors contribute to the central strategic importance of Uganda in this regard:

Uganda stands at the cross-roads between the conflict areas of the Sudan, Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and the fragile stability of Central and Southern Africa;

Uganda shares its borders with some of the most porous and politically unstable countries in Central Africa and the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa;

The territory of Uganda has been, and still is, utilised as a transit route by illicit networks and has also suffered directly from terrorism and increased crime;

Uganda possesses political posture and responsibilities that are unique, as a member of: the East African Community; the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Eastern African Regional Police Chiefs Committee and the Nairobi Declaration, the leadership of the Government of Uganda and the Ugandan organised Civil Society are often the only driving factors leading to action on joint regional issues.

Uganda has a strong humanitarian and social record in the region as a provider of asylum and refuge to numerous peoples from the region. Hosting, sometimes to the detriment of Ugandans, large refugee populations from neighbouring countries. With this responsibility also comes the negative effects associated with conflict and moving combatants. One of which is the influx of weaponry as tools for protection or means of survival and barter trade.

The Government of Uganda and organised Civil Society have been actively participating and engaged in all sub-regional, continental and international policy formulation initiatives that aim to tackle the proliferation of and illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Through their active engagement in these processes Ugandans were able to not only make valuable contributions to these initiatives but have also ensured that the finalised agreements are reflective of their experiences and needs. Within the UN Programme of Action, the OAU Bamako Declaration, Nairobi Declaration and Nairobi Protocol clear guidelines for national, regional and international action are set forth. These agreements have put in place the political framework within which to tackle the proliferation of small arms and provided an important guide in the formulation of Uganda’s National Action Plan.