Arms Management Cluster: AHSI1

 

Arms Control, Small Arms, Light Weapons and Landmines

[Standard Questionnaire for the Small Arms Cluster - PDF]

 

Heads of State decided to:

• Conduct an in-depth study on the question of reducing the armament burden in all its aspects, including the proliferation and dissemination (illicit and clandestine traffic of arms) of low-calibre war arms in the conflict zones and its vicinity. Leaders raised the possibility of using a certain percentage of the results from disarmament to increase the financial capacity of the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution.
• Set up a Regional Register on the transfer of Conventional Arms within the OAU to initiate a regional dynamism to enhance mutual confidence and security through greater transparency in the international transfer of conventional arms.

African leaders have committed themselves to resolutely combat illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms, light weapons and landmines at the sub-regional and continental levels in a comprehensive, integrated, sustainable and efficient manner through:

• Ensuring that the behaviour and conduct of Member States and suppliers are not only transparent but also go beyond narrow national interests;
• The promotion of measures aimed at restoring peace, security and confidence among and between Member States with a view to reducing the resort to arms;
• The promotion of structures and processes to strengthen democracy, the observance of human rights, the rule of law and good governance, as well as economic recovery and growth;
• The promotion of conflict prevention measures and the pursuit of negotiated solutions to conflicts;
• The promotion of comprehensive solutions to the problem of the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons that:

  – include both control and reduction, as well as supply and demand aspects;

  – are based on the co-ordination and harmonisation of the efforts of the Member States at regional, continental and international levels;

  – involve civil society in support of the central role of governments, in this regard.

• The enhancement of the capacity of Member States to identify, seize and destroy illicit weapons and to put in place measures to control the circulation, possession, transfer and use of small arms and light weapons;
• The promotion of a culture of peace by encouraging education and public awareness programmes on the problems of the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons, involving all sectors of society;
• The institutionalisation of national and regional programmes for action aimed at preventing, controlling and eradicating the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons in Africa; and
• The respect for international humanitarian law.

To address the problem of the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons African Heads of State agreed to recommendations at the national and regional levels. At the national level Heads of State recommended the following:

• National co-ordination 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;
• Enhance the capacity of national law enforcement and security agencies and officials to deal with all aspects of the arms problem, including appropriate training on investigative procedures, border control and specialised actions, and upgrading of equipment and resources;
• Adopt the necessary legislative and other measures to establish as a criminal offence under national law, the illicit manufacturing of, trafficking in, and illegal possession and use of small arms and light weapons, ammunition and other related materials;
• Develop and implement national programmes for:

  – the responsible management of licit arms;

  – the voluntary surrender of illicit small arms and light weapons;

  – the identification and the destruction by competent national authorities and where necessary, of surplus, obsolete and seized stocks in possession of the state, with, as appropriate, international financial and technical support;

  – the reintegration of demobilised youth and those who possess small arms and light weapons illegally.

• Develop and implement public awareness programmes on the problem of the proliferation and the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons;
• Encourage the adoption of appropriate national legislation or regulations to prevent the breaching of international arms embargoes, as decided by the UN Security Council;
• Take appropriate measures to control arms transfers by manufacturers, suppliers, traders, brokers, as well as shipping and transit agents, in a transparent fashion;
• Encourage, where appropriate, the active involvement of civil society in the formulation and implementation of a national action plan to deal with the problem;
• Enter into binding bilateral agreements, on a voluntary basis with neighbouring countries, so as to put in place an effective common system of control, including the recording, licensing and collection of small arms and light weapons, within common frontier zones.

Heads of State recommended the following actions at the regional level:

• Put in place, where they do not exist, mechanisms to co-ordinate and harmonise efforts to address the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons;
• 
  Encourage the codification and harmonisation of legislation governing the manufacture, trading, brokering, possession and use of small arms and ammunition. Common standards should include, but not be limited to, marking, record-keeping and control governing imports, exports and the illicit trade;
• 
  Strengthen regional and continental co-operation among police, customs and border control services to address the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons. These efforts should include, but not be limited to, training, the exchange of information to support common action to contain and reduce illicit small arms and light weapons trafficking across borders, and the conclusion of the necessary agreements in this regard;
• Ensure that the manufacturers and suppliers of illicit small arms and light weapons, who violate global or continental regulations on the issue, shall be sanctioned. Known brokers and states which act as suppliers of illicitly acquired arms and weapons to combatants in Member States, should equally be sanctioned by the international community.

The OAU Secretary-General is to report regular progress in respect of the implementation of the Bamako Declaration on the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons to the OAU Council of Ministers.

African Heads of State recognised that the issue of anti-personnel mines constitutes a major public health threat and affects free circulation of people and goods in affected countries. They called on all African countries which had not done so to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. The Secretary-General of the OAU was requested to sensitise Member States to contribute to the effective implementation of the Convention.

African leaders supported the Maputo Declaration, 1999 of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, including those states’ commitment to the total eradication of anti-personnel mines. The Maputo Declaration calls on all parties to cease to use, develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain and transfer these weapons.

African Heads of State supported the objectives of a work programme by states parties to the Convention to address issues of mine clearance; victim assistance and mine awareness; stockpile destruction; technologies for mine action; and the general status and operation of the Convention.