Global Safety and Security

SaferAfrica deals with global safety and security issues. This component of the safety and security programme considers a range of factors which inform the understanding of the dimensions of safety and security at an international level. These include:

Arms Control
Counter Terrorism
Border Security
Security sector governance
Private security
Peace support operations
Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration

Arms control

Broadly speaking, arms control is an all encompassing term referring to the curtailment in the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation, and usage of weapons, which include small arms and light weapons, conventional weapons, chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, ammunition, missiles, bombs, and landmines. This measure of control is achieved through a variety of actions, usually exercised through diplomacy, treaties and agreements. Given the conflict-riddled status of Africa, an effective arms control regime is crucial for attaining both security and development goals.

There are a number of international agreements which outline an effective arms control framework, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968), the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (1972), and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004), which deals with the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. However, few African states have ratified these agreements, despite the pervading concern that biological, chemical or nuclear weapon attacks will come from a non-state actor, particularly terrorist groups. Proper control measures are thus essential in mitigating some of the dangers of this situation. The programme draws on its research experience to assist states in the conceptualization of mechanisms for the implementation of arms control policies, agreements and actions, including putting in place safeguards to prevent the dispersion of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Counter Terrorism

Terrorism is any illegal activity undertaken to threaten or enact violence for the achievement of political or ideological or religious goals. The Safety and Security Programme has a terrorism project in South Africa. The purpose of the terrorism project is to equip SARPCCO Member States multi disciplinary law enforcement units with the necessary knowledge and skills to address terrorism effectively.

The objective of the project is to enable the learner to:
1. Prevent and react to acts of terrorism
2. Identify and analyze acts of terrorism
3. Gather and disseminate intelligence
4. Investigate terrorism
5. Ensure successful prosecution
6. Undertake contingency and operational planning
7. Manage terrorist incidents

Latest initiatives
Counter terrorism

In view of the global terrorism threat the SARPCCO 7TH AGM recommended the establishment of an anti-terrorism centre at the INTERPOL Sub-Regional Bureau. The success of this endeavour hinges on the training and co-operation of all regional police organisations in the gathering and sharing of information on activities of terrorist organisations in the region.

During the SARPCCO Training Committee meeting held in Harare, Zimbabwe in September 2002, the South African Police Service, together with a task team appointed by the SARPCCO Training Committee, were asked to develop a curriculum on Anti-terrorism. The Task team comprise of South Africa (Chair), Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania.

SaferAfrica’s assistance to the SARPCCO Anti-terrorism task team are to facilitate meetings, carry the costs of the task teams meetings, assist in the development and printing of training material, carrying the cost for the first pilot course and any future courses, and provide continual evaluation of the courses.

The first pilot course was held during May 2005 in Pretoria, South Africa with 19 participants from the Southern African region attending the course.

Border security

The maintenance of the integrity of national borders is one of the primary concerns of African states, particularly as free trade and free movement of persons agreements begin nearing completion. The greatest challenges are controlling immigration flows (principally illegal border crossings prompted by civil wars), and preventing organized crime syndicates trafficking goods and people across borders. Border security is broader than just addressing procedures and strategies for the securing of the land border; it extends to all ports of entry including seaports and airports. The defense of territorial waters also falls under this mandate, and a recent upsurge in piracy off the African coast requires the establishment of a common regional and national policy on halting these activities.

The most common difficulties encountered are; understaffing at border posts, insufficient facilities for the detention and deportation of people without approved documentation, and lastly that the scope of the physical border line often exceeds the effective patrolling capacity of the available personnel and equipment. Current trends point towards increasing the capacity of states to undertake ongoing trend analysis, ensuring that their border defence strategy is both appropriate and adaptable to addressing emerging patterns.

The responsibility for border security is often shared amongst a number of agencies including the defense force, police, customs and immigrations. A range of different techniques and practices are employed to improve the effectiveness of border security, and the Programme is focused on assisting states in identifying the most suitable strategies for efficient border control within their particular context, as well as enhancing their implementation capacity.

Security Sector Governance

At its most basic level, security sector governance refers to the mechanisms which ensure that the national legislature administrate the security apparatus of a country within the approved policy framework. The national security apparatus includes the armed forces, police, border guards, security services and intelligence services. The fundamental principles of security sector governance include democracy, transparency, legitimacy and accountability on processes and procedures within the security sector by both the state and civil society. The poor record in Africa with regards to military coups, corruption and democracy highlights the need for institutionalized security sector governance with a system of checks and balances.

Within Africa and Latin America, a tension exists between the developmental and security needs of a country. Disproportionate expenditure on military equipment and the lack of transparency of national procurement processes are just two of the most common challenges creating difficulties in attaining goals.

A pressing concern for security sector reform is the maintenance of an open relationship between parliamentary and civil society structures, which carry the responsibility for oversight of the security forces, and may lack the capacity to effectively fulfill their mandate. SaferAfrica is focused on strengthening the governance of the security sector through the facilitation of information-sharing between key stakeholders, particularly on best practices.

Private Security

The private security industry has grown substantially in Africa recent years, due to a range of inter-related factors such as the lack of faith in national police structures, the faster response time and the superior personal service of the private security industry. Private security firms do more than provide protection to individuals and businesses, particularly in Africa. Given that certain firms assist states and corporations with support services which include military and medical training, intelligence briefings, and logistical and operational advice, the need for government oversight becomes clear. Particularly in conflict-ridden areas, private security firms are commonly called in to guard the infrastructure of the state, which is arguably part of the state’s mandate, and this highlights the necessity of producing a legal ruling on the permitted functions of private security firms.

A minority of African countries have put a regulatory structure in place to oversee the activities of the private security industry. This is especially problematic in Africa, given that instability and crime (in varying degrees of severity) are rife in many states, including South Africa, prompting individuals, organizations, and the state to make increasing use of private security. On a regional level, the Organization of African Unity (now African Union) attempted to regulate some of these activities in the Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism (1977), while nationally the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act (FMAA) was passed by the South African Government in 1998. However, neither document makes distinctions between the illegitimate actions of mercenaries versus the acceptable practices and standards to be expected of private security firms. It is in this area of constructing a practical regulatory framework where the experience of SaferAfrica’s officers provides great insight.

Peace support operations

Peace support operations (PSOs) are an integral part of the security, development and good governance landscape in Africa. The threats to peace in Africa are complex, including ethnic conflict, economic distress, the collapse of political order, general oppression, and the proliferation of weapons and organised international crime. The manner in which PSOs are conducted and the composition of the force are thus critical influences in the success of the mission.

These crisis response operations are variously coordinated under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). While it is not the norm, by allowing regional forces to attend to situations within their environment, the intricate histories and cultures of the parties to the conflict can be more readily understood and factored into the mission framework, fostering ownership of the process.

Peace support operations include a wide variety of activities aimed at achieving specific goals, and SaferAfrica is actively involved in aspects such as conflict early warning, conflict prevention, peace building and conflict resolution, and the fight against small arms proliferation.

Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration

Successful social and economic reintegration of former combatants is generally seen as pivotal for the sustainability of efforts that peacekeeping missions undertake. It is critical to ensure that a combatant need not return to the use of violence to survive after the conflict has ended and peace has been attained. The primary aim of DDR programmes is to contribute to a secure and stable environment in which an overall peace process and transition can be sustained. It is only in this kind of environment that political and security restructuring, as well as social and economic reconstruction and longer-term development can take root. It is often ignored that DDR programmes are just one of many elements in a peace process. DDR programmes must be designed and implemented in conformity with other parallel programmes that also influence the success or failure of peace processes, (i.e. justice and reconciliation, community-based reconstruction, etc.) and must be extended beyond the transitional phase.

to top