Regional Center on Small Arms and Light Weapons

Kenya

Kenya Receives Software to Control Small Arms Brokering and Brokers

On 3^rd March 2010, the United Nations Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) formally handed over to the Kenya Government a standardized electronic register for small arms brokers. The ceremony was presided over by the Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, H.E. Professor George Saitoti, EGH, MP.

This software has been developed by UNREC within the framework of its project titled “Regulating Small Arms Brokering in Eastern Africa” and in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed with RECSA in July 2009. The software will manage information on arms brokers and keep records of brokering licenses in accordance with the RECSA Best Practice Guidelines for the Implementation of the Nairobi Declaration and the Nairobi Protocol on Small Arms and Light Weapons. Read More >>

RECSA Develops a Policy on Gender and Small Arms

In recognition of the fact that small arms and light weapons (SALW) have different effects on men, women, boys and girls, a Ministerial Declaration during the 3rd Council of Ministers' meeting held in June 2005, directed RECSA to develop a policy to guide gender mainstreaming in small arms programmes and institutional frameworks.

The Norway Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Ambassador Elisabeth Jacobsen, makes a statement during the RECSA gender policy validation workshop in Nairobi in December 2009

With support from the Royal Government of Norway, RECSA finalized the development of a five-year gender policy in December 2009. This will be implemented in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States. Read More >>

Achievements by Member States to the Nairobi Declaration.

The Kenya National Focal Point was established in June 2002 and became fully operational in March 2003 under the office of the President, which handles the National Security Portfolio.

The Kenya National Focal Point is the main coordinating body responsible for policy formulation, development of National Action Plan, research and monitoring of activities designed to control the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons in the country.

The Kenya National Action Plan for arms management has been completed and will be formally launched in very soon.

Other major achievements include :

	Establishment and operationalization of a District Peace and Development Committee to initiating voluntary surrender of arms in some pastoralists's districts;

	Launching of the Security Sector Reform through the establishment of a steering committee on community policing within the National Focal Point

	Public destruction of 8,299 firearms in May 2003
	Public destruction of 35,000 landmines
	360 assorted illicit Firearms 4100 rounds of assorted ammunitions recovered/ surrendered between January and October 2003.

Major Achievements to date.

	The Kenya National Focal Point (KNFP) developed a National Action Plan (NAP) on small arms policy and its management which was presented to appropriate Authorities and approved. The Kenya NAP is expected to be formally launched very soon

	Kenya NFP participated fully in all trainings and Consultative forums at regional, continental and international levels

	In the framework of the implementation of Kenya NAP, seven of the eight identified Provincial Task Forces have already been created and trained. The remaining task forces will be trained before the end of the year

	On Policy development and Legislative review, a Policy development Team was convened and underwent orientation and exposure in South Africa in preparation of the Policy development. The Policy will inform necessary amendments to legislation on firearms

	KNFP organized a civil society training of trainers workshop in October 2004 where 15 members of CSO's were trained.

	On public awareness, KNFP has continuously sustained awareness creation activities and has used all forums available to facilitate sensitization. KNFP participated in the Tecla Lorupe Peace Race and organized a Tana River Peace Race which was held in Garsen and made a presentation to Kenyan Parliamentarians Members of National Security and Defense Committees, on actions against illicit arms

	On the ratification of the Nairobi Protocol, a Memorandum to the Cabinet has been approved by respective Ministers. The ratification is expected to receive Cabinet approval very soon

	The implementation of the Kenya National Action Plan (NAP) on Arms Control and Management continues. A number of activities have been undertaken since the beginning of the Year 2005 to date. These include the following:

Kenya Army Receives Marking Machines

The Kenya Army has received an electronic machine to be used to mark its small arms. The machine was purchased with funds provided by RECSA through the financial support of the US Government.

Officers from the Kenya Army have attended several trainings on arms marking organised by RECSA in Kenya and South Africa and will commence the marking exercise in due course.

The machine was handed over to Department of Defence officers, Col. Muvengi and Brig. Bukhala, by the Kenya National Focal Point Coordinator, Mr David Kimaiyo during a brief ceremony at the NFP.

The Kenya Police has so far marked over 12,000 weapons with a similar machine also donated by RECSA.

Training of Civil Society

Training of civil society organizations on issues of Small Arms and Light Weapons commenced on 15 th March and ended on 22 nd April, 2005 . There were ten provincial/regional workshops held across the country – Nairobi , North-Rift, South-Rift, Nyanza, Western, Central, Lower-Eastern, Upper-Eastern, North-Eastern and Coast. The training was tailored to build the capacity of CSOs on small arms and mop up their support for the implementation of the NAP. Co-ordination and facilitation of these workshops was jointly done by NFP and NCCK, with funding from Saferworld.

Ratification of the Nairobi Protocol

		Kenya has ratified the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa and the instruments of ratification deposited with RECSA.
		H.E. Amb. B.K. Mbaya, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Kenya, signing the 3rd Ministerial Declaration, in June 2005, Nairob

Collection of Illicit Firearms

The collection of illicit small arms and light weapons continues. There was voluntary disarmament in six Districts within North-Rift. This was jointly done with Uganda for those Districts bordering North-Rift. It was accompanied by the provision of development projects by the Government. Over 2,200 assorted illicit firearms and 3,700 rounds of ammunition were collected during this exercise.

Arms Destruction

Over 3,800 assorted small arms and light weapons were destroyed through burning at a ceremony held at Uhuru Gardens , Nairobi on 29 th June, 2005 . The occasion was presided over by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs and graced by the Commissioner of Police. Other Government representatives, members of the donor community, RECSA and civil society also attended this important event that aims at publicizing the campaign against small arms and light weapons.

Illicit and recovered Firearms before destruction in Kenya, June 2005.

Participation in Regional and International Conferences

Kenya was represented in various for both at the regional and international level.

Awareness raising activities

NFP participated in the Tegla Loroupe Peace Race that was held in Tana River District, on 24 th September, 2005 . A similar cross-border event is scheduled for 19 th November, 2005 in Kapenguria, West Pokot . The race aims at enhancing interaction and promoting peace among the warring communities.

Launch of the KNAP

Preparations for the official launch of the National Action Plan are in progress. The launch is expected to take place soon.

Kenya hosts Burundi, Djibouti, DRCongo, and Rwanda National Focal Points personnel in an exchange program and training

Between 11th September and 15th September 2006, the first round of the Inter-state exchange program for National Focal Points of the states namely Burundi, Djibouti, DRC and Rwanda was held in Nairobi, Kenya. The exchange program ran concurrently with the Kampala based program.

The objective of the program was to enable sharing of experiences and lessons learnt in the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration and Protocol and other International instruments on the problem of illicit small arms and light weapons.

It is important to note that the Nairobi program saw the represented states make a courtesy call on the Executive Secretary RECSA.

Presentations were made to the participants some of the following salient issues;

A mapping of the progress of the National Action Plan, NAP, in Kenya.
The North Rift Disarmament Program overview and difficulties appertaining to the process.
The establishment of the National Steering Committee on Peace-Building and conflict management
A courtesy call was made at OXFAM GB and a mapping of the organizational programmes undertaken by the INGO was made. Among the most important programmes was the Control Arms Campaign.
A mapping out of the roles of Civil Society in the SALW Control agenda was undertaken.

RECSA, Institute for Security Studies, ISS, and the Small Arms Survey conduct a Small Arms Researchers’ Workshop in Nairobi
October 9- 11, 2006-11-14
Panari Hotel, Nairobi (Kenya)

Between 9th and 11th October 2006, the Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons, in conjunction with the Institute for Security Studies and the Small Arms Survey organized the Regional Researchers’ Workshop on Human Security and Small Arms at the Panari Hotel Nairobi.
The workshop brought together the regional secretariat, National Focal Points Coordinators, regional and international civil society organizations and two researchers from each of the Member States signatory to the Nairobi Declaration and Protocol. The objective of the workshop was to integrate and initiate sustainable research on human security and small arms in the implementation process. The researchers, it should be noted, were chosen from leading institutions of research and higher learning of the member States, with a goal of incepting their collaborative efforts in working with NFPs on small arms research issues.

Participants acknowledged the need for credible research on human security and small arms for the implementation, but were also apprehensive that very little relevant research was being generated in the region, due to lack of funding among other reasons. As such, there was a critical examination of various dimensions of research in the region, including issues of credibility, sustainability, funding, regional collaboration and dissemination of findings.

The following were the recommendations brought forward by the participants and also as a way forward:

RECSA should develop and establish substantive positions of a Research Officer, Capacity Building Officer and Advocacy Officer in its organizational structure. This would create desks to focus on research related issues on a full time basis.
A recommendation for RECSA and its partners to move quickly and establish a technical committee to study and advise on small arms research activities in the regions, and that the Committee’s report should be available not later than 31st January 2007 in readiness to be tabled during the Council of Ministers meeting for consideration.
The creation of a webpage by RECSA on its website dedicated for posting research related work and/or activities from time to time.
To the extent that its resources and capacity would allow, the meeting urged RECSA to do all it can to bridge the disparity that currently exists among its member states with regard to the implementation of the Nairobi Protocol and the Coordinated Agenda for Action.
Information-Sharing and trans-border co-operation and collaboration should be encouraged and strengthened as this approach would result in a more effective use of resources and lead to sustainable peace.
RECSA was urged to extend the pool of researchers available to “needy” National Focal Points in order to speed up the implementation of the National Programs.
RECSA and NFP Coordinators were encouraged to broaden their resource bases so as to spread the risk of their activities stalling in the event that current support is stopped or gets exhausted.
Collaboration with other partners including universities, and specialized research institutions should be forged and strengthened.
RECSA was urged to continue, on a regular basis to organize similar workshops for researchers on small arms in future.

RECSA and NFPs: 5TH National Focal Points Coordinators’ Meeting held.
October 12, 2006-11-14
Panari Hotel, Nairobi (Kenya)

The Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons organized the 5th NFPs Coordinators’ meeting bringing together the Secretariat and NFP Coordinators from Member States signatory to the Nairobi Declaration and Nairobi Protocol. Representatives from the East African Community/Germany Arms Initiative (EAC/GTZ), the International Police Organization (Interpol), the United Nations Disarmament Research Institute (UNIDIR) also participated in the meeting. The objective of the meeting was to review the progress of the implementation process since the last National Focal Points Coordinators meeting in 2005, to share experiences and exchange information with a view to charting the way forward for the implementation in months ahead.

The NFP Coordinators meeting is held annually pursuant to the provisions of the implementation plan of the Coordinated Agenda for Action of the Nairobi Declaration and the Nairobi Protocol which identifies regional co-operation and the exchange of information key to effective implementation, and sets out guidelines and mandates for action for all stakeholders. Equally, the RECSA Strategic Plan 2004/2007, the one year Work Plan 2006/2007, the Work Plan 2006/2011, all approved by RECSA Council of Ministers emphasize and justify the need for conducting the annual event.

Participants had the opportunity to hold a regional overview of the implementation and RECSA one year work plan, and to make presentations in respect to progress of implementation in their particular countries in order to underline achievements and highlight gaps for possible assistance.

During the meeting the participants reiterated;

The importance of the exchange of information between the secretariat and National Focal Points among other stakeholders,
How to effectively engage the international community in supporting their implementation process.

RECSA attends the 2nd Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region
United Nations Complex, Gigiri, Nairobi

RECSA participated in the 2nd Summit of the Heads of State and Governments of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. This was the second multilateral and summitry meeting concerning the wider concern of peace and security in the Great Lakes region and how to equate this to development in Africa and promoting human security and thus human rights. This was from the 14th to the 15th of December 2006. RECSA was represented by one of its principal officers and the regional organization had its role played out within its capacity as a diplomatic entity. As such RECSA deliberated its small arms and light weapons amelioration agenda as a diplomatic observer, which is an official track-one capacity. To gain diplomatic and substantive momentum for the goal of the conference, RECSA did its part in diplomatic lobbying and advocacy on the security link of small arms proliferation. In that end, the conference’s main highlight was;

The signing of the Pact on Security, Stability and development for the Great Lakes Region.

The objective of the pact thereof is to;

Provide legal framework governing relations between Member States who ratified it. The framework is within the limits of the priority areas selected in matters of peace and security, democracy and good governance, economic development and regional integration as well as the social and humanitarian issues.
The pact constitutes the Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration, the Protocols, the Programs of Action, the Regional follow up institutional mechanism and the fund. Member states will be expected to implement the pact and also to create between themselves conditions for security, stability and sustainable development.

The Secretariat of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region will be the depository of the pact. The secretariat is supposed to register the pact, upon its entry into force, with the Secretariat of the United Nations, UN, and with the Commission of the African Union, A.U.

The pact enters into force 30 days after its ratification by eight of the Member States. Any Member State can ratify the pact at a latter date after the eighth instrument of ratification in order to become party to it. The pact also contains provisions for amendments and revision, and withdrawal.

The Pact consolidated 10 Protocols which cater for the main thematic focuses of the International Conference on the Great Lakes. These Protocols are namely the;

Protocol on Non-Aggression and Mutual Defense in the Great Lakes Region.
Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
Protocol on Judicial Cooperation.
Protocol for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity and all Forms of Discrimination.
Protocol against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources.
Protocol on Management of Information and Communication.
Protocol on the Specific Reconstruction and Development Zone (SRDZ).
Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children.
Protocol on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons.