Additional Member States Receive Training in Arms Marking

 Demonstration on how to use the arms marking machine during training workshop in Djibouti

RECSA Member countries from the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States committed themselves to mark their weapons. This is in accordance with the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms, and the Best Practice Guidelines. Member States are to ensure that all state owned firearms and those held legally by civilians are marked to uniquely identify the firearms. In support of this commitment, RECSA purchased at least two electronic marking machines per country with which to mark the arms.

This has been followed by training in the use of the equipment to facilitate commencement of the marking process electronically. In 2008 law enforcement officers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi received training from RECSA. Marking is progressing in these countries by the military and police. In the latter half of 2009, a second round of trainings have been held in additional member states – Seychelles, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Djibouti and Sudan. The second round of trainings has been made possible by the support of the US Government. Trainees were drawn from the Police and the Army in the various countries.  

5th RECSA NFP Civil Society Forum

From 27 to 28 September 2009, the Regional Centre on Small Arms in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States (RECSA) hosted the 5th Regional Civil Society Forum.

The meeting which took place in Dar-es-Salaam, Republic of Tanzania, brought together participants from 12 Member States, i.e. Burundi, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Member States were represented by National Focal Point Coordinators on SALW or their representatives and one representative from a civil society organization dealing with issues of SALW. Intergovernmental bodies and regional civil society organizations were in attendance to share their experiences.

The main objective of the seminar was to provide a forum for interaction and exchange of information between civil society, National Focal Points (NFPs) and RECSA on the activities taking place to address proliferation of illicit SALW in the region. The meeting further sought to enable participants to exchange information on the current trends affecting SALW work in the region, explore the opportunities that exist to the enhancement of civil society-Government collaboration in small arms work, and to promote this collaboration through dialogue.

See a summary report of the meeting Click Here ::. English Version ::.French Version

RECSA Holds Regional Small Arms Brokering Meeting Back to back with UN meeting on UNPoA

RECSA hosted a regional seminar on small arms and light weapons (SALW) brokering in Kigali, Rwanda on 6^th and 7^th July 2009.

The meeting brought together representatives from UNREC, the African Union, RECSA Member States, inter-governmental organizations and civil society representatives from the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa, and Bordering States. The Seminar was officially opened by H.E Mussa Fazil Harerimana, the Rwanda Minister for Internal Security.

Participants discussed various issues on brokering of small arms and light weapons from national, regional and international perspectives, including challenges of enforcing brokering regulations, measures to counter illicit brokering, enforcement of relevant laws, among other topics. The meeting further revisited the provisions and regulations in the Nairobi Protocol and the best practice guidelines on the topic.

RECSA Member States got an opportunity to share their experiences in implementing small arms brokering best practices.

The ultimate goal of the seminar was to initiate regional dialogue and to open channels for cooperation between the various RECSA Member States in enhancing SALW brokering control measures.

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The RECSA regional brokering meeting was held back-to-back with a UN meeting to strengthen the implementation of the UN Programme of Action on small arms and light weapons in the RECSA and SADC sub-regions. Click Here to See  for the outcome document

RECSA and UNREC Sign Agreement

RECSA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) headquartered in Lome, Togo.

The MOU serves to strengthen cooperation between the two organisations in the promotion of peace and security in States under their respective mandates.

RECSA Represented by Deputy Executive Secretary Amb. T. Midonzi  has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) headquartered in Lome, Togo

Under the joint agreement, RECSA and UNREC will collaborate in the following key areas:

• To reinforce the capacities of civil society organizations on practical disarmament and peace building in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States;

• To foster small arms transparency regimes and enhance the exchange of information among the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States by developing national and sub-regional databases that include information on imports, exports, transfers, manufacturers, holders, dealers, brokers, seized, stolen and lost, and destruction of small arms

• To build capacities of the Great Lakes Region, the Horn and Africa and Bordering States to manage and maintain computer-based databases and communications systems and;

• To develop initiatives in other areas of common interest in the field of arms control, disarmament, peace, and security as both organisations see fit

The MOU between the two organisations is in recognition of RECSA’s mandate to coordinate action against illicit small arms and light weapons proliferation in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States. This is in line with the Nairobi Protocol and the Nairobi Declaration.

UNREC provides Member States of the African region, at their request, with substantive support for initiatives and other efforts geared towards the implementation of measures of peace, arms limitation and disarmament, in cooperation with the African Union (AU) and other sub-regional organizations

RECSA and ISS Sign Agreement

RECSA has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of Security Studies, a regional research institute operating across sub-Saharan Africa with offices in South Africa, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Kenya.

RECSA Executive Secretary, Dr Francis K. SANG, and the ISS Executive Director, Dr Jakkie Cilliers, exchange copies of the signed agreement at a ceremony held in RECSA offices in Nairobi

A ceremony to mark the signing by the RECSA Executive Secretary, Dr Francis K. SANG, and the ISS Executive Director, Dr Jakkie Cilliers, was held at the RECSA offices in Nairobi and was attended by representatives from both organisations.

The MOU serves to formalise a long standing relationship between the two organisations. Its objective is to facilitate effective undertaking of complementary cooperation in small arms activities, projects and programmes.

Under the joint agreement, RECSA and ISS will collaborate in the following key areas:

• Capacity building and training of national focal points on small arms and light weapons (and related personnel);
• Research capacity building;
• Research on arms management, armed violence reduction and human security; and
• Technical issues relating to arms management, Cattle rustling, armed violence reduction and human security, in particular, the proliferation and management of small arms, ammunition and man-portable air-defence systems
• Information exchange in areas of mutual interest

The MOU between the two organisations is in recognition of RECSA’s mandate to coordinate action against illicit small arms and light weapons proliferation in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States. This is in line with the Nairobi Protocol and the Nairobi Declaration.

The mission of ISS is to conceptualise, inform and enhance the debate on human security in Africa in order to support policy formulation and decision-making at every level towards the enhancement of human security for all in Africa.

Stockpile Management efforts in Rwanda

The arms marking exercise is on-going. Over 1300 firearms have been marked by Rwanda National Police to-date using the MC 2000 electronic marking machine donated to the Government by RECSA. The Defense Forces are yet to start the marking exercise with equipment also provided by the Secretariat. The two electronic machines will facilitate and accelerate the arms marking in Rwanda and enhance record keeping and tracing of small arms and light weapons as elaborated under Article 7 of the Nairobi Protocol.

A firearms inspection exercise has been carried out in the parts of the country affected by insurgents and firearms-related crimes. These include the Western Region and some parts of the North. The core objective of the exercise is to inspect the government arsenals and ammunition stores for purposes of updating records. This will assist in the identification of obsolete, surplus and redundant arms and ammunitions which are then earmarked for destruction. The overall aim is to enhance management of Government stockpiles.

Community policing and sensitization exercises are being carried out in the same areas. Through these exercises the citizens are encouraged to engage in voluntary surrender of arms held illegally. They are informed of the need to actively participate in national developmental and social programs particularly those geared at poverty reduction and the promotion of collective good health in the community (locally known as mutuelle de santé). Furthermore income generating activities are promoted in view of the fact that armed violence hinders and retards sustainable development while at the same time poverty increases the potential for armed violence.

Rwanda has carried out arms destruction exercises with the support of Mines Advisory Group (MAG-Rwanda) under the Conventional Weapons and Ammunition Disposal & Stockpile Management (CWMD) project. Since January 2009, over 16,000 obsolete, surplus and illegally held firearms have been destroyed with the Macyntire MC 4000 Shears machine which renders them completely unusable by cutting them up into tiny pieces.

RECSA got an opportunity to update partners on progress made in implementation of the Nairobi Protocol, and to present the five year strategy and a work plan drawn to operationalise the strategy for the next two years.

Participants shared their priority areas and projected interventions to facilitate harmonis

5th Council of Ministers' Meeting

The 5^th Council of Ministers’ meeting was held in Bujumbura, Burundi on 20^th and 21^st April 2009. The Meeting brought together Ministers and Plenipotentiaries from the states of Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Also in attendance were various partners of RECSA in the implementation of the Nairobi Protocol.

The Council, Chaired by the Minister of Public Security of Burundi and the immediate former Chairman of the Council, Hon Alain Bunyoni, received with satisfaction a progress report on the implementation of the Nairobi Protocol from the Executive Secretary, Dr Francis K. Sang and a report from the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Chairman, Mr. Onesphore Mbazumutima, on the proceedings and recommendations of the Committee on various strategy documents of the organization.

The meeting approved RECSA’s key documents that will guide further implementation of various programmes – Five year strategic plan and budget; the Information, Education and Communication Strategy; the two year work plan and budget; and audit reports for 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 financial years.

The Ministers and Plenipotentiaries appreciated the work done so far by RECSA in implementing the Nairobi Protocol and the Nairobi Declaration. They further noted that there was still more ground to cover to achieve the goal of ridding the sub-region of illegal weapons. They called on all Member States of RECSA to work together towards this goal.

At the end of the meeting, the Republic of Burundi handed over Chairmanship of the RECSA Council of Ministers and the Technical Advisory Committee to the Republic of Djibouti. The Chairmanship will be for a period of two years. The new Chairman of the Council is Hon. Yacin Elmi BOUH, the Djibouti Minister for Interior.

RECSA Admits 13^th Member State

The Executive Secretary informed the Council that the Secretariat had received a request from the Republic of Congo to be admitted as a Member Country of RECSA. The country had earlier acceded to the Nairobi Protocol.

The Council considered this application and reached a unanimous decision to admit the Republic of Congo as the 13^th Member of RECSA.

9th anniversary of the signing of the Nairobi Declaration Marked

The Nairobi Declaration Day is marked every year on or around 15^th March in RECSA Member States to commemorate the signing of the Nairobi Declaration on the Problem of the Proliferation of Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons which was signed in 2000.

Events organised to mark the Day are used as forums to raise public awareness on issues of small arms in the RECSA Member States.

This year a number of countries highlighted the Day through the media. Newspaper supplements were published to highlight the significance of the Nairobi Declaration to the war against illicit weapons in the region.

In addition, Kenya destroyed 2,490 weapons as the landmark event to mark the day. In attendance were top police officers, senior Government officials, media, civil society representatives and RECSA.

The climax regional celebrations were held in Djibouti with a street march with posters, banners, t-shirts and caps displaying advocacy messages. In attendance were Djibouti NFP officials, Police, media, civil society, school children, members of the public, academicians, IGAD, representatives from embassies of RECSA Member States, donors, and UN agencies (including UNDP which provided funds for the various activities). A symbolic arms destruction of 100 weapons was undertaken and broadcast by electronic and print media. 

RECSA Hosts Dialogue Forum

The primary objective of the meeting was to identify and/or refine global principles to govern the transfer of small arms and light weapons throughout the world, building upon previous work done by governments and civil society. Attention was also given to matters critical to the implementation of such principles.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for stakeholders to hold discussions on small arms issues e.g. the progress and challenges in the implementation of the International Instrument to Trace Illicit SALW adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2005.

RECSA was represented in Geneva by the Executive Secretary, Mr Francis K. Sang. He made two presentations:
Small arms and light weapons transfer controls and mechanisms: The Great Lakes and Horn of Africa Region Experience
Tracing Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons: Progress and challenges in the implementation of the International Tracing Instrument in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa Sub-region.

The marking of weapons using the new marking machines RECSA will be purchasing soon generated a lot of interest from participants during the side events meeting.
Given the informal nature of the meeting, no concrete resolutions were made. However, transit states stressed the need for governments of exporting, importing and transit countries to be involved in decisions relating to the authorization of international small arms transfers.

RECSA Chairman’s Courtesy Call to Kenya’s Minister for Foreign Affairs

The RECSA Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Hon. Alain Bunyoni, held discussions with Kenya’s Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Richard Onyonka, on 27th August 2008 in Nairobi.

Hon. Bunyoni is also the Burundi Minister for Public Security. The main purpose of his visit was to express appreciation on behalf of RECSA to the Kenya Government for its continued support to the Secretariat both financial and technical through the secondment of staff. In addition, he briefed the Kenyan Minister on his ongoing visits to other RECSA Member States to encourage Governments to meet their financial obligations to the organization to boost SALW programmes.

Hon. Bunyoni commended Kenya for developing a National Action Plan and encouraged the Government to implement it to boost the war against proliferation of illegal SALW. He further informed the Assistant Minister of the activities RECSA has carried out in Kenya and the region in the implementation of the Nairobi Protocol since the 2nd Extraordinary Council of Ministers’ meeting in October 2007

These have included training in arms marking, procurement of electronic machines to mark arms in State possession in Member States, provision of support in the destruction of obsolete arms, hosting of the first regional seminar on MANPADS, public awareness among others.

On his part, Hon. Onyonka noted that Kenya appreciates RECSA’s efforts in addressing the issues of SALW in the region and reiterated the Government’s commitment to assist the Secretariat in attaining its goals. He encouraged RECSA to seek commitment from other Member States in fulfilling their financial obligations and to engage in more public awareness about its work. He further noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fully appreciates and supports RECSA’s efforts to control the proliferation of and problems posed by illegal SALW.

RECSA Chairman visits Member States.

Mr Sang and Hon. Bunyoni pay a courtesy call on the Seychelles Vice-President, His Excellency Joseph Belmont (second from right). Looking on is Police Commissioner Ernest Quatre, the Seychelles NFP Coordinator

The Chairman of the RECSA Council of Ministers, Hon. Alain G. Bunyoni, has been accompanied by the Executive Secretary, Mr Francis Sang, on a tour of Member States.

The main purpose of the visits is to remind Member States of the commitments they made on signing up to the Nairobi Declaration and the Nairobi Protocol. In addition to addressing the problem of small arms, Member States pledged to make yearly financial contributions towards the running of the RECSA Secretariat.

The Governments of the Member States have been impressed upon to strengthen the National Focal Point offices by appointing fulltime qualified staff and providing financial support. At the same time the visits have emphasised the need for implementation of the Nairobi Protocol and the importance of developing National Action Plans on small arms to boost efforts to combat proliferation of illegal SALW.

The ES and Chairman have so far visited Djibouti, DRC, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Sudan and Tanzania. The next leg of the regional tour will target Rwanda and Uganda.

* Hon. Bunyoni is also the Burundi Minister for Public Security.

Member States to Step up Arms Marking.

Mr. Francis K. SANG, The RECSA Executive Secretary (Left) and the Kenya Commissioner of Police, Major General Hussein Ali at the Workshop opening ceremony

RECSA’s 12 Member countries from the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States have renewed their commitment to mark their weapons by December 2008. This is in accordance with the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms, and the Best Practice Guidelines.

Member States are to ensure that all state owned firearms and those held legally by civilians are marked at the time of import, with a simple marking permitting identification of the country of import and the year of import, and an individual serial number so that the source of the small arm or light weapon can be traced.

The mark on each weapon should uniquely identify each firearm.

This renewed commitment was reaffirmed at the end of a Regional Arms Marking and Recordkeeping workshop held in Mombasa, Kenya from 31st March to 4th April. The meeting brought together RECSA, National Focal Point Coordinators, and officers from the Military and Police from the 12 countries, and the East African Community. The meeting was officially opened by the Kenya Commissioner of Police, Major General Hussein Ali, MGH, MBS.

The meeting recommended the use of electronic machines over the manual system to speed up the marking process. The former can mark up to 1,500 weapons a day, while the latter can only manage 500.

The computerised system has the additional advantage of data generation when marking, thus ensuring effective record keeping of information on small arms. Availability of these records will enhance effective stockpile management of all legal weapons within a country.

A number of RECSA Member States have already embarked on marking their arms with a view to meeting this deadline – Rwanda and Uganda. However, the process remains slow as in some cases the marking is undertaken manually.

Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Approves RECSA’s Key Documents

The 5th TAC meeting was held in Bujumbura, Burundi on 19th and 20th January 2009 and was officially opened by Hon. Alain Bunyoni, the Chairman of the RECSA Council of Ministers. Hon. Bunyoni is also Burundi’s Minister for Internal Security. Discussions during the two-day meeting focused on key policy documents to be implemented by the RECSA Secretariat once approved by the Council of Ministers which will meet in April 2009. The document considered were:

Participants  at the TAC meeting with Senior Burundi Government officials after the opening ceremony

• Five year strategic plan

• Information, Education and Communications Strategy

• Two year work plan and its budget

• Audit reports for the years 2006/2007 and 2007/2008

• An update report on financial contributions to RECSA by Member States and mobilization of resources

• Draft Guidelines on Arms Marking

The documents were adopted with minor amendments and will be presented before the Council of Ministers for final adaptation.

The RECSA Executive Secretary, Dr Francis K. Sang, presented for consideration and discussion a progress report on programmes and activities implemented by the organization since the last TAC meeting in April 2007. Recommendations and views extended by the Members of Advisory Committee on the documents and progress report will go a long way in guiding the future of the organization as it implements relevant small arms programmes.

Finally, the Technical Advisory Committee considered and approved the agenda for the Council of Ministers’ meeting to be held on April 20th and 21st in Bujumbura. The Committee comprises coordinators of National Focal Points on Small Arms from RECSA’s 12 Member States. RECSA wishes to thank the UK Government through DFID for financially supporting the TAC and Ministerial meetings.

RECSA Donates Electronic Marking Machines to Member States

As part of its support to Member States in their commitment to mark all state-owned firearms as stipulated in the Best Practice Guidelines for the Implementation of the Nairobi Declaration and Nairobi Protocol on Small Arms and Light Weapons, RECSA has donated an electronic marking machine to its Member States.

The RECSA Executive Secretary, Dr Francis Sang (extreme right) makes a statement to Kenya’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, Lawrence Mwadime, after the official handover of the machine to the Kenya Police. Looking on are the RECSA Deputy Executive Secretary, Amb. Midonzi (extreme left) and the Kenya NFP Coordinator, Mr Peter Eregae

This is part of the Secretariat’s support to the various countries as they undertake national programmes to address proliferation of illegal arms.

So far, RECSA has officially handed over the brand new marking equipment and launched the marking of small arms in five of its Member countries – Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya.

According to the Best Practice Guidelines on Stockpile Management, Member States in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa were to mark firearms in government control by end of December 2008. The electronic machines will speed up the process in the countries that had begun the exercise using manual methods and encourage those who had not commenced to do so.

RECSA in partnership with the five National Focal Points on small arms conducted training in the marking and use of the new machine assisted by an expert from South Africa.

Participants for the trainings have been selected from the police force, defence forces, prisons services, wildlife authorities and other law enforcement agencies to equip them with the latest skills and standards in marking firearms.

RECSA recognized by UNIDIR

RECSA recognized by UNIDIR
In it’s publication Implementing Resolution 1540: The Role of Regional Organizations, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) recognizes the role of RECSA in addressing the proliferation of illegal small arms in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States.

UNIDIR notes that a number of countries in the RECSA region have made progress in implementing the United Nations Plan of Action on small arms and the Nairobi Protocol (full text at http://www.recsasec.org/pdf/Nairobi%20Protocol.pdf).

UNIDIR recognizes RECSA as playing an important role in supporting Member states to share information on the implementation of the Nairobi Protocol, and providing assistance in the harmonization of SALW legislation in the sub-region as agreed upon in the Plan of Action and the Nairobi Protocol. In addition, RECSA is the forum for regional workshops and seminars on SALW issues and monitors progress made in the various areas.