Tackling the Availability and Misuse of Small Arms in Africa 1

Saferworld submission to the Select Committee for International Development on the Africa Commission - October 2004

Tackling the availability and misuse of small arms in Africa[1]

Saferworld[2] has decided to submit this evidence to the International Development Committee inquiry on the Africa Commission as the UK is in a strong position to take a lead internationally on small arms issues during its Presidencies of the EU and G8 next year. It is important to mobilise broad, cross party political support to encourage the government to take action and to strengthen the government’s hand when negotiating with other international actors on these issues.

Summary

The proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) is fuelling conflict, facilitating violent crime, undermining development, threatening governance and increasing insecurity across Africa. Indeed, small arms have an impact on each of the 6 key thematic areas the Africa Commission aims to address. (See Annex 1) Tackling small arms should therefore be a priority for the Commission.

The Commission for Africa has an important role to play in advancing effective controls on small arms. It brings together decision-makers and opinion-shapers from North and South and so provides a forum to develop consensus and push the boundaries of international action. The Commission’s focus on next year’s EU and G8 Presidencies and the NEPAD framework also make it highly relevant for small arms control.

Effectively controlling small arms proliferation requires:

• The EU and G8 to strengthen their controls on arms transfers and trafficking;
• North and South to work together to strengthen international controls through the UN;
• African countries to take steps to address the problem within the continent (often with technical or financial assistance from EU or G8 countries); and
• Political dialogue to encourage action and discuss obstacles to progress.

Reccomendations

The challenge of reducing the availability and misuse of small arms has risen up the international political agenda in recent years. Significant agreements on small arms control have been reached in the UN, the G8, Europe (through the EU and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and Africa (regionally and sub-regionally through the Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development Community and the Nairobi Declaration process). However, the effectiveness of these agreements varies and their implementation has been patchy.

The following recommendations provide a practical agenda for action for the Africa Commission and the forthcoming EU and G8 Presidencies. They are grouped into three issue areas:

a.) Strengthening legal controls on arms exports.

b.) Tackling arms brokering and trafficking.

c.) Building capacity to address the availability and misuse of weapons within Africa.

a.) Strengthening legal controls on arms exports

The EU and G8 bring together the world’s largest arms exporting nations. Direct transfers from Western European countries to Africa have decreased in recent years but still persist. A number of new EU member states have records of supplying weapons to African countries in conflict and Russia is a growing problem for proliferation (eg. Russia is supplying arms to the Sudanese Government).

Of the world’s seven largest exporters of small arms - the US, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Brazil and China – five are members of the EU or the G8 (GIIS 2004: 100). More effective controls are therefore needed within the EU and G8, in other major supplying countries and internationally. Small arms exports are of particular concern but larger weapons systems continue to play a role in African conflicts and so tougher controls are needed on all arms transfers. Key priorities include:

• Introduce ‘a presumption of denial’ of arms exports to countries at risk of instability. Thispresumption can of course be overridden if the Government can demonstrate that there is a legitimate defence requirement for the equipment in question and that it poses no problem for any of the export criteria. However, it shifts the onus of proof – making it incumbent on the Government to demonstrate why this export is necessary given the concerns that it already has about stability in the country that wishes to import the arms.

• Strengthen the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports. The EU Code has been in place now for almost six years, yet it has not had the anticipated impact on member states’ export policies. The UK should use the current review of the EU Code to promote a strengthening of the criteria for licensing arms exports and then take an initiative on this during the UK’s Presidency of the EU in 2005.

• Agree a declaration on international standards for arms transfersand support the establishment of an Arms Trade Treaty. The G8 should agree criteria or principles based on international law for assessing arms transfers and support the development of an International Arms Trade Treaty at the 2006 UN Small Arms Review Conference.

• Build the capacity of Central and Eastern European (CEE) states to implement effective arms export policies. Irresponsible arms supplies from the region to Africa persist due to a combination of lack of political will, need for hard currency, poor border controls and enforcement capacity. The EU and G8 should work with countries in the region to build support for and assist reforming legislation, strengthening licence application assessment, enhancing stockpile management and destroying surpluses, increasing public transparency and enforcement.

• Increase pressure on Russia and other suppliers to control arms sales. Significant quantities of arms being used in conflicts in Africa are originally sourced from countries such as Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus and China. It is therefore crucial that the EU and G8 use their influence with these states to tighten their arms export policies.

b.) Tackling arms brokering and trafficking

Arms brokers from, or operating in, EU and G8 countries play a major role in supplying weapons to African conflict-zones. A succession of UN reports into sanctions-busting have highlighted the role of these middle-men who often buy weapons cheaply in Eastern Europe and organise their transfer to Africa. Action is also needed to tackle other factors facilitating the trafficking of arms including the abuse of aircraft and shipping registers, aircraft insurance and the use by western governments of arms dealers’ planes for military transport and humanitarian assistance. Many of these are technical issues but addressing them is vital to progress.

• Push for an international agreement on arms brokering, which includes extra-territorial controls. Governments agreed in the UN Programme of Action on small arms to “consider further steps to enhance international cooperation in preventing, combating and eradicating illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons”. Yet most countries still do not have controls on arms brokers. The UK government has taken action to control the activities of arms brokers operating from the UK in the Export Control Act. However, it is still possible for a UK broker operating overseas to transfer weapons to countries such as Rwanda, Uganda and Ivory Coast without needing a licence from the UK Government. The EU has agreed a Common Position on controlling arms brokers that “encourages” states to introduce extra-territorial controls but does not make this mandatory. An agreement on extra-territorial controls on arms brokers during the EU and G8 Presidencies would act as a stepping stone to the establishment of an international legally-binding instrument at the 2006 UN Small Arms Review Conference.

• Improve controls over the transportation of arms. To operate legally, arms brokers and transportation agents should be required to register.There should also be greater supervision with regard to vessels and aircraft, whereby all shipping and aircraft registers should be required to maintain certain standards.Governments should also develop new mechanisms for monitoring and intercepting air traffic that may be carrying illicit goods such as arms. To deter individuals and companies from trafficking arms, Governments should also ensure that legal entities registered to carry arms and military equipment insure their planes/ships with approved insurers.

C.) Building capacity to address the availability and misuse of weapons within Africa

There are significant quantities of arms already in circulation in Africa that are recycled from conflict to conflict. Building local capacity to combat the availability and misuse of weapons is critical to ensure that progress is sustainable.

• Integrate small arms and armed violence initiatives into development programmes. Given the close linkages between arms availability and under-development, it is important that initiatives to enhance security and reduce the proliferation of small arms are included in donors’ development budgets and programmes. This is beginning slowly to happen but still relatively few EU member state or European Community Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) address issues of armed violence and insecurity. Conducting a conflict and security assessment should be a mandatory requirement in the development of CSPs.

• Tackle arms proliferation as part of assistance to NEPAD. Controlling arms trafficking is a key part of the NEPAD Peace and Security Agenda. The EU and G8 are providing considerable financial and political support to NEPAD. Support for initiatives to control arms should be included within this.

• Support African sub-regional organisations to coordinate implementation. Progress on tackling small arms in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa has been help by facilitation by the Nairobi Secretariat, the inter-governmental coordinating body to oversee implementation of the Nairobi Declaration and Protocol. However, this still faces challenges of financial and human capacity and lack of political clout. Progress in the SADC and ECOWAS regions has meanwhile been hindered by a lack of coordination from the SADC and ECOWAS secretariats.

• Establish National Focal Points and develop National Action Plans. African governments have committed to establishing inter-departmental committees (known as National Commissions or Focal Points) to coordinate action against small arms. A number of governments have now done this with good result but many have yet to act. Once these committees are established the priority is to assess the small arms problem and develop a National Action Plan (NAP) to address it. These plans cover a wide range of measures including, amongst others, legislative control, weapons collection, development and community safety initiatives

Develop monitoring mechanisms for arms embargoes. The UN expert panel report on the Somalia arms embargo (2003) suggested the development of cooperation frameworks between the Africa Union (AU), the League of Arab States and the UN to guarantee assistance be provided in all areas of the enforcement of the embargo, including timely sharing of information relating to violations and responses to investigative requests. The EU should also provide the AU and sub regional bodies with financial and technical support so that they strengthen their cooperation with the UN to implement arms embargoes.

• Apply diplomatic pressure to states of concern. A significant part of the problem of arms availability in Africa is caused by countries in the region, with whom the EU and G8 countries have significant diplomatic and development relationships. EU and G8 countries could do more to put diplomatic pressure on these countries to cease their role in arms proliferation. And African countries could include a government’s record on arms and security issues as a factor to examine in the AU’s new peer review process.

• Strengthen the role of civil society. The need for governments to work in partnership with civil society to address the small arms problem has been agreed in the UN Programme of Action. Non-governmental and community-based organisations have a significant role to play in implementing agreements, raising and monitoring implementation by governments. However, the capacity of civil society to play these roles, and their knowledge of small arms issues is often very limited. EU and G8 countries could support training programmes to increase the capacity of African civil society organisations, and encourage African governments to be willing to work in partnership with them and tolerate dissent.

For further information please contact:

Alice Hutchinson or Catherine Flew

Saferworld

The Grayston Centre

28 Charles Square

London N1 6HT

tel: +44 (0) 207 324 4646

fax: +44 (0) 207 324 4647

Annex 1

How small arms have an impact on the Commission for Africa’s key themes

1. Peace and security

The most immediate impact of small arms is on peace and security. The presence of SALW can fuel and sustain violent conflict. It is estimated that small arms are implicated in more than 300,000 deaths each year, primarily in the world’s poorest countries (Graduate Institute of International Studies - GIIS2003). Small armshave been the main weapons used in all recent major African conflicts, including the wars in Angola, DRC and Sudan.

The proliferation of SALW is also fuelling terrorism. The MANPAD attack on an Israeli aeroplane at Mombassa airport in 2003 illustrates the availability of these weapons in Africa. Al Qaeda also used explosives in the 2000 attack on the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen and the truck bomb attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Small arms are also commonly used in the commission of violent crime and armed robbery and in the violation of human rights.

2. Governance

The proliferation and misuse of arms can undermine efforts to strengthen governance and the democratic process. The presence of arms can affect the outcome of an election or even derail a fragile democratic process where they exacerbate violence and intimidation and undermine the secure environment necessary for a free and fair election.

Weak state structures and irresponsible and unaccountable governance are in turn themselves contributing factors to the availability of weapons. People, especially minorities, may resort to arming themselves against the state either as a result of abuse or because they cannot pursue their grievances through normal democratic channels.

3. Economy

The uncontrolled presence of SALW undermines the security environment in which sustainable economic activity can take place and deters domestic and international investment. Conflict fuelled by small arms can also destroy existing infrastructure, reverse economic gains and prevent new economic development from taking place.

A lack of economic investment and development coupled with the widespread availability of arms can also lead to increases in the use of arms to sustain livelihoods and obtain wealth through armed robbery, violence and intimidation.

4. Human development

The proliferation and misuse of small arms also impacts negatively on human development, preventing people from improving the quality of their lives. Conflict and instability can lead to the disruption of medical services and can place a disproportionate burden on the public health system. The presence of small arms, and armed conflict also impacts on children’s access to education.

5. Natural resources

In much of Africa today, arms proliferation is closely linked to the exploitation of natural resources. Governments and rebel groups can raise funds through the direct sale or looting of resources, such as oil, diamonds, coltan and timber. It is often in the best interests of those involved in the exploitation of these resources to maintain the conflict as it allows them free access to exploit resources that would otherwise be denied under a functioning state.

6. Culture and participation

The widespread availability and misuse of small arms is also contributing to the erosion of Africa’s cultural heritage, through undermining traditional power structures and altering the relationship within societies and between societies and the state. The proliferation of weapons can also destroy communal bonds, fuel mistrust and fear and lead to the erosion of traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution.

1

[1] This report draws on a previous report written by the Institute for Public Policy Research and Saferworld for the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit on ‘Arms Proliferation and Countries at Risk of Instability’ and on a report written by Saferworld for the Commission for Africa on ‘Tackling the Availability and Misuse of Small Arms in Africa.’

[2]Saferworld is an independent non-governmental organisation that works with governments and civil society internationally to research, promote and implement new strategies to increase human security and prevent armed violence.