Kenya Receives Software to Control
Small Arms Brokering and Brokers
On 3rd 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.
This project is being implemented in
Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda,
Tanzania and Uganda. Its purpose is to
reinforce the capacity of Eastern
African States to regulate brokers and
brokering activities within their
territories.
UNREC through its Director Jacqueline
Seck-Diouf
commended RECSA for its unwavering
support and spirit of collaboration. She
reiterated that the software had been
developed to assist RECSA and its Member
States to achieve the organisation’s vision
of
“a safe and secure sub-region in a
peaceful continent free from arms
proliferation”.
Professor Saitoti
applauded UNREC and RECSA for
identifying Kenya as the first beneficiary
country within the Great Lakes and Horn of
Africa regions to participate in the pilot
project for the installation of the
electronic brokers’ software. He assured
those present of the Kenya Government’s
commitment to control the problem of small
arms and armed conflicts fueled by the easy
availability of firearms.
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