Strengthening small arms controls

An audit of small arms control legislation in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa

Summary This report is an abridged version of a comprehensive study on small arms legislation in the Great Lakes region (GLR) and Horn of Africa (HoA), conducted by Saferworld and SaferAfrica. The report builds on the methodology developed in a similar study conducted on small arms legislation in Southern Africa by Saferworld and SaferAfrica entitled The Law of the Gun: An Audit of Firearms Control Legislation in the SADC Region, published in June 2003.

This research project aims to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the small arms control legislation in nine countries of the GLR and HoA. This abridged version presents the narrative analysis for Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. To date it has not been possible to complete research in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia and Somalia.

The Nairobi Secretariat, the regional co-ordination body for small arms in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa has been significantly enhanced in 2003. Most signatories to the Nairobi Declaration have established national co-ordination agencies, known as National Focal Points, and other significant progress has been made at the national level in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda towards the establishment and implementation of National Action Plans for Arms Management and Disarmament.

Many studies of trafficking of small arms for crime or to support conflict show a variety of ways in which legal small arms can be diverted for illegal purposes if there are inadequate legislative controls. International co-operation, the establishment of effective tracing systems and the enforcement of arms embargoes are essential to reduce and combat the illicit trafficking and misuse of small arms.

Strengthening and harmonising legislation on these issues and others is one of the key tasks that states in the sub-region have committed to address in the Nairobi Declaration and other international small arms agreements. A 'Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa' has been developed by the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Co-operation Committee and was signed by Chiefs of Police in Tanzania in December 2003. It is important that this is now effectively implemented. This will necessitate national and regional reviews of legislation in order to ensure that there are effective common standards of control on small arms in operation across the region.

This study by Saferworld and SaferAfrica aims to help states as they address the issue of legislative controls. At the national level the detailed country tables will assist national governments in identifying areas of weakness that must be addressed and existing best practice. While at the regional level, the regional overview and comparative analysis will aid governments to regionally harmonise their national legislation and to develop rigorous and effective minimum standards of control.

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