Regional Center on Small Arms and Light Weapons

Rwanda

Rwanda Weapons Destruction

On 24th July, the Rwanda Government publicly destroyed 160 tonnes of ammunition and unexploded ordnances at the Gabiro Military Training School near the Rwanda-Uganda border. These were the surplus/obsolete stocks in Government possession.

Ammunition and ordnances explode during the destruction

The exercise demonstrates the country’s commitment to the implementation of regional and international instruments on small arms and light weapons (SALW). Under these instruments signatory states commit themselves to employing more effective stockpile management practices and reducing the number of obsolete, surplus and illicit weapons within their borders as a way of controlling the number of illegal arms in circulation.

One of the ways of controlling arms is by undertaking frequent destruction of such weapons to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

The destruction exercise was attended by among others, the Minister for Internal Security (Hon. Musa Fazil HARERIMANA), RECSA’s Deputy Executive Secretary (Amb. Tharcisse Midonzi), high ranking officials from the military and police (including the General Chief of Staff and the Commissioner of Police), the NFP Coordinator (Supt. Eric Kayiranga), the Eastern Province Governor, representatives from the civil society and the media.

RECSA commends the Rwanda Government for consistency in firearms destruction and its overall commitment to addressing the problem posed by SALW.

Achievements by Member States to the Nairobi Declaration.

The Rwanda National Focal Point was created after the signing of the Nairobi Declaration but was officially launched on 20 March 2003.

The official launch of the Rwanda NFP was the first major stage towards the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration and also the beginning of the public awareness and education campaign on the problem of illicit proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons.

Prior to the mapping and National Plan of Action processes, Rwanda NFP is in the process of preparing a National Conference on small arms and light weapons to be held in the near future.

Major achievements include:

Amendment of the legislation on firearms in 2001;

Recovery and improvement of peace and security in the entire country;

Community policing mechanisms

Good governance

For more details, please refer to the Annual Report 2003, page 29,30.

Major achievements to date

In April 2004, a Rwanda delegation led by the Minister for State in charge of Cooperation Hon. Protais MITALI attended the 2 nd Ministerial Review Conference held in Nairobi from 20 th to 21 April 2004 ,

In June and October 2004, a Training Seminar on small arms and Community policing for various law enforcement agencies an d civil society organizations was organized with the collaboration of National Police and Safer Rwanda, a civil society organization ,in Kigali and Gisenyi provinces , respectively

On 10 th November 2004 , the Council of Ministers chaired by H.E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda , adopted the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons and the Great lakes Region and the Horn of Africa

From 18 th to 19 th January 2004 , a workshop on s structure , organization and daily management of Rwanda NFP was held in Kigali with the facilitation of Nairobi Secretariat and Civil Society organization partners SRIC, Safer Africa and Saferworld

Rwanda Awareness Day on small arms and firearms destruction event
In the framework of the execution of the annual public awareness week activities in relation with the commemoration of the 5 th anniversary of the signing of the Nairobi Declaration, Rwanda Government through her National Focal Point proceeded to a public destruction (burning) of 6000 firearms and ammos and ammunitions worth 261 tons.

View of Participants attending Arms Destruction ceremony in Rwanda on 14th April 2005.

The ceremony held at Musha Kigali Rural Province on 14 th April 2005, was presided over by the Minister of Defense, Gen. Marcel Gatsinzi on behalf of the Prime Minister, HE Bernard Makuza, who got a last equally very important State duty call. I20 official invitees attended the ceremony including among others the Office of the President; Office of the Prime Minister; Cabinet Ministers; Diplomatic Missions accredited to Rwanda; United Nations Agencies; International and local NGOs; Human Rights Commissions; Churches; local and International Medias as well as neighboring population. Nairobi Secretariat was represented by Mr. Francis K. Sang, Director / Coordinator and Mr. Isaïe Bagabo, Information & Public Relations Officer.

Before the arms destruction event, four speeches were respectively delivered by the Coordinator of Rwanda NFP, Maj. Kakira Rwakabi; the Key note address by the Minister for Defense, Gen. Marcel Gatsinzi; the Director/ Coordinator of Nairobi Secretariat, Mr Francis K. Sang and the UNDP Country Representative Mr. Macharia Kamau. After the ceremony, a copy of the breakdown of 20 type of firearms destructed was issued to the Director / Coordinator of Nairobi Secretariat and proceedings of the event was signed by the Minister of Defense on behalf of the Government of Rwanda; the Director / Coordinator on behalf of Nairobi Secretariat and the UNDP Country Representative on behalf of the United Nations.

Since January 2005, the Rwanda Government has made progressive activities in its commitment of fighting the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

The Rwanda National Focal Point (RNFP) on small arms and light weapons in collaboration with Nairobi secretariat and Saferworld organized a workshop on structure and daily management of Rwanda National Focal Point.

On 14 th April, 2005 , Rwanda National Focal Point on Small arms and light weapons organized and actively burnt 6000 small arms and light weapons, ammos and ammunitions worth 261 tonnes at Musha in Kibungo Province .

The RNFP on Small arms and light weapons has participated in the harmonization of national and regional legislation on small arms and light weapons. The conference brought together countries namely, Burundi , DRC and Rwanda . The conference took place at hotel Novotel, Kigali from 18 th –19 th April 2005 .

In close cooperation & support by our partners, SaferAfrica & SaferWorld, have sponsored and facilitated the capacity building of RNFP from 9 th –15 th of June 2005 in South Africa (at SaferAfrica)

H.E. Hon Protais Mitali Kabanda, Minister for state in charge of Cooperation, Republic of Rwanda signing the 3rd Ministerial Declaration, in June 2005, Nairobi.

Together with civil society organizations such as SaferRwanda have encouraged & participated in awareness raising and advocacy for voluntary surrender of illicit small arms and light weapons programmes in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri provinces in May and September 2005 respectively.

The objectives of the workshops were to exploring practical ways of fighting and surrendering firearms voluntarily through a community based policing approach.

From 27-27 September 2005, at hotel de Mille Collines, Kigali, RNFP hosted & facilitated a workshop on Reviewing the progress in the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action (UNPoA) by member of Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

Public destruction of recovered / illicit 1500 firearms

At the occasion of the commemoration of the 6th anniversary of the signing of the Nairobi Declaration, Rwanda destroyed publicly on June 22nd 2006, in Ruhango, Southern Province, 1500 recovered and voluntarily surrendered firearms. This was the second time since last year in April where 6000 illegal / recovered and surrendered firearms were publicly destroyed. The Theme of the occasion was “the role of citizen in combating illegal small arms for sustainable development”

The event was presided over by Hon. Prime Minister of Rwanda, H. E Bernard Makuza on behalf of the Government of Rwanda and was witnessed by high ranking military and Police officials including the General Chief of Staff, and the Commissioner General of Police. Also were in attendance members of the Cabinet, member of the Senate and the Parliaments, members of Diplomatic Corps as well as representatives from United Nations Agencies and religious and civil society organizations.

Since the event was carried out in the premises of a high school, thousands of students witnessed also the public destruction.

Hosting of the Legal Drafting Committee Meeting

In line with the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration and the Nairobi Protocol in relation with legislative measures to be undertaken by member States, RECSA Secretariat facilitated and hosted the Rwanda Legal Drafting Committee Workshop in Kigali , at Hotel des Milles Collines , from 28th to 29th September 2006.

The workshop was conducted in connection with the implementation of recommendations from the workshop on harmonization of legislation on firearms in the member States signatory to the Nairobi Declaration and the Nairobi Protocol in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa held in Nairobi in September 2005.

Among other recommendations, the workshop recommended that a legal drafting committee should be established by every Member State by 28 April 2006. The drafting team should consist of both technical as well as legal experts and should include a variety of key members of the National Focal Point (NFP).

In attendance were 25 legal officers from the Rwanda National Police the military, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Customs, Rwanda Revenue Authority and Civil society representatives. A delegate representing Burundi National Focal Point Coordinator also attended the workshop since the second of its kind is scheduled to take place in Bujumbura.

The workshop had the following objectives: Overview of the current legal controls on small arms and light weapons in Rwanda; overview of the ongoing parliamentarians SALW harmonization process; and to discuss about the tasks and responsibilities of the legal drafting committee and developing the work plan for the legislative review.

At the end of the workshop, participants were briefed on the Draft revised Rwanda National legislation on firearms, as part of the ongoing harmonization process between three member States: Rwanda, DR Congo and Burundi. They expressed their appreciation for the good work done by the parliamentarians Committee and noted that the process was conducted in conformity with the Guidelines for the implementation of the Nairobi Protocol and the Guidelines for the harmonization of national legislation on firearms in the member States as it was approved Governmental Legal experts in Nairobi , in September 2005.

1st African Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-integration (DDR) course is held
October 30 – 10 November, 2006
Rwanda Military Academy (RMA), Rwanda (Nyakinama)

On October 30th to 10th November, 2006 the 1st African Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) course hosted and sponsored by the Republic of Rwanda with contributions by the Governments of the United Kingdom through British Peace Support Team East Africa (BPST EA) and the Federal Republic of Germany through the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) was conducted at the Rwanda Military Academy (RMA) in Nyakinama Rwanda.

The course aimed at equipping military, police and civilians with the most current international standards and knowledge on DDR focusing on the African context and experiences.

The course was organized into forty one sessions and six syndicate exercises and presentations and the participants, it should be noted, included both military and civilian speakers and presenters. The nationalities presented were twenty eight in total.

The participants identified critically different thematic areas in the wider spectrum of DDR, included in this were concerns towards:

Treating DDR as a component in peace processes, with an African focus.
Proven African methodological lessons towards effective DDR strategies.
A critical analysis of the United Nations approach to DDR. This included inter-agency analysis of international regimes dealing with DDR among them being: the United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Department of Political Affairs, Department of Public Information, International Labour Organization, International Organization of Migration, UNDP, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UN Institute for Disarmament Research, UNIFEM, UNHCR, WFP and WHO.
A critical analysis of the Law and Politics of International Peacekeeping and possible nomenclature of peacekeeping missions-both mandated and ad-hoc. In this aspect the Rwanda genocide phenomenon was surveyed including jurisprudential aspects of the social-political conflict and consequent transitional justice mechanisms adopted.
To cap up the course sessions, the main impetus of the training consequently addressed both military and civilian aspects of DDR as widely construed.

Rwanda hosts a national consultative workshop on the development of the National Action Plan on arms control and management
17th – 18th January 2007
Kigali, Palisse Club Hotel,

The Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons (RECSA) in collaboration with the Rwanda National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons (RNFP), organized a Consultative Workshop on the Development of a National Action Plan (NAP), on Arms control and Management in Rwanda. This two days event was held in Kigali, Club House la Palisse on the 17th and 18th of January 2007. The workshop was officially opened at 9:00am, by the Secretary General in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ambassador Joseph MUTABOBA, and was attended by members of the RNFP, The members of the civil society, International community, Law enforcement agents and the press. In his opening statement, the secretary General affirmed that he was particularly delighted that the RECSA and the Rwanda National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons were able to work together to organize this important meeting on the Development of a National Action Plan (NAP) on Arms Control and Management in Rwanda.

He mentioned that the war against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Rwanda will be determined by the success in the implementation of the UN programme of Action (UNPoA) and other similar international initiatives like the Nairobi Declaration and Nairobi protocol.

He reminded the participants that “given the recent history of Rwanda and other different civil unrests that had characterized the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa, one would say that this workshop is very timely. We can expect to deliberate on different strategies that can act as a guideline to the Rwanda National Focal Point to develop concrete measures to fight the proliferation of small Arms in our Country and beyond”. He pledged support on behalf of the government of Rwanda.

In his speech, the Coordinator of the Rwanda National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Superintendent Eric KAYIRANGA narrated that, “ it is now nearly five years since the Rwanda National Focal Point on small Arms and Light Weapons was established, since its establishment in March 2003, a lot of achievements had been registered this includes public awareness on the dangers of illicit small Arms and Light Weapons that resulted into the surrendering and collection of different types of Small Arms and ammunitions which were as a result, destroyed on two different occasions. This was realized after a combination of efforts from different stake holders including the civil society, the government and the International Community”. He said.
Other key speakers at the Workshop included the RECSA Representative Mr. Isaïe BAGABO, who outlined the specific objectives of the workshop, that included capacity and resource identification and the needs required for the mapping of the SALW situation in Rwanda.

Among the Various topics that were discussed were: National SALW mapping and methodology that was presented by Mr. M.Anders Holger, from the Group de Recherche et d’Information sur la Paix et la Sécurité (GRIP); Lessons and experiences in national mapping was presented by Lt. Col. (Rtd) Jerry Kitiku, from the Security Research and Information Centre (SRIC), who gave a broader picture on what is required for a comprehensive mapping of the national SALW situation, this included reviews of SALW management regulations and their implementation. Case study “Kenya National Focal point (KNFP)”.
The Paper on the causes of illicit trafficking and proliferation of SALW in Rwanda was presented by Dr. Anastase Shyaka, from the Centre for Conflict Resolution and management based at the National University of Rwanda.

Also from the civil society organization in Rwanda Mrs. Christine Muhongerwa, the Coordinator of SaferRwanda discussed on the impact of illicit SALW trafficking and civil society action in Rwanda. An overview of SALW Actors and Action in Rwanda and Current planned action was presented by the coordinator of RNFP Mr. Eric KAYIRANGA.
Discussion on possible steps and resources requirements for SALW management in Rwanda were also held. This was through group work and all the participants contributed to the hypothetical questions.

Challenges were identified and recommendations were made for the Rwanda National focal point, and these would act as a road map for the development of the National Action Plan on SALW management in Rwanda. Among these recommendations was to decentralize the work of the National Focal Point to the lowest levels of Governance in Rwanda, accelerate the work of research and public awareness and to further strengthen partnership with all stakeholders including the civil society and the international community.