EA security chiefs plan to end arms trade with technology

EA security chiefs plan to end arms trade with technology

Security chiefs in the East Africa region are banking on new technology to combat illegal arms smuggling by enhancing tracking of the sources, border patrols and inventories of weapons in legitimate hands.

The discussions arose this week as delegates from 26 African countries gathered in Nairobi to review a common position on arms control, ahead of a global conference in the US later this year.

The spoke of the threat of small arms traded illegally on the continent, and how they are fuelling conflicts and making it difficult to establish long-term peace. They also spoke of the problem of tracing, as the continent becomes one huge market for small arms.

Kenya’s Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo said termed the proliferation and misuse of small and light weapons an existential threat to Africa’s peace, cohesion and stability.

“Small and light weapons continue to wreak havoc in communities, fuel conflict, undermine peace and stability, and hinder socioeconomic development in the African continent,” Dr Omollo said.

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In Kenya, banditry has become harder to deal with as locals access small arms with ease, mostly smuggled across the borders.

Closely monitored borders can only solve half the problem, since producers of those arms, most of them outside of the continent, continue to churn iut their deadly merchandise, experts said.

The conference included senior officials from the United Nations, African Union and regional blocs.

The AU says it is discussing a common policy with member states to ensure that the continent has a unified approach in curbing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. It will need money, and new tech for tracing from source to end-user as well as actual expiries or recycling.

Christopher Kayoshe, AU acting head Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration/Security Sector Reform Division, said this will help achieve the “silencing the guns” goal initially intended for 2022 but deferred to 2030.

“It is our desire that the continent is guided by a common position so that these deliberated meetings involved in the AU Commission are valuable,” he said in Nairobi.

The AU passed the Bamako Declaration on an African Common Position on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons to aid coordinated participation of Africa when negotiating with outside entities such as the UN for global actions on illicit arms. But that also assumes that governments on the continent work in tandem and are always stable.

The immediate, more easily acceptable means, however, is controlling arms imports and exports.

For Africa, some countries in the region such as South Sudan have an arms embargo imposed on them. But illicit arms still flow, causing endless clashes between militia and security forces. Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo had arms embargoes imposed until last year. But the conflict in eastern DRC was still running, blamed omn to illegal trade in arms.

The upcoming conference in June in New York, known as 4th Review conference (RevCon4) is supposed to help address the evasive issue of arms tracing. Maritza Chan, president-designate for the conference, said they expect a plan of action on International Tracing Instruments (ITI) of illicit small arms and weapons. She argued the supply side of arms must also take responsibility.

Izumi Nakamitsu, the United Nation’s Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, argued countries must learn their lessons.

She argued that easy availability of small arms was hurting Eastern and Southern Africa’s regionl efforts for sustainable peace, security and socio-economic development.

“In this geopolitical landscape fraught with multi-layered risks, illicit proliferation, diversion and misuse of small arms and light weapons is a major contributing factor that perpetuate much of the human suffering we see in the world,” she said.

Terrorism, poaching and armed insurgencies are fuelled in the continent owing to the ease with which illicit small arms and light weapons cross their borders, she argued.

In Africa, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (Unidir) estimates that out of the 40 million small arms in the continent, 40 percent of its gun ownership is illicit.

On the global scale, it is estimated that one billion small arms are in circulation and kill some 250,000 people each year.

These deadly weapons account for 45 per cent of all violent deaths globally with the data from Unidir indicating that 260,000 people were killed by small arms in 2021 alone.

Currently, Eastern African states, that is, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda drive the continental average for human smuggling, extorting and protection racketeering, arms and human trafficking, the Africa Organised Crime Index 2023, established.

The report revealed that the two most pervasive criminal markets in the region are human trafficking and arms trafficking.

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Tanzania's opposition party ACT Wazalendo honours veteran politician under new policy
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Tanzania’s opposition party ACT Wazalendo honours veteran politician under new policy

Unguja. Opposition party ACT Wazalendo today officially bids farewell to its former Chairman, Juma Duni Haji, also known as Babu Duni, as part of a new policy designed to honor retired senior leaders at a ceremony held at Kiembesamaki, Zanzibar.

The initiative highlights the party’s commitment to recognizing and supporting individuals who have served with dedication and integrity.

Babu Duni, who stepped down earlier this year, was succeeded by Othman Masoud, now the First Vice President of Zanzibar.

The policy aims to provide ongoing respect and support to retired leaders, ensuring their continued recognition and contribution to the party’s development.

“Recognizing their significant contributions to the development and prosperity of the party, this policy ensures that retired leaders continue to be acknowledged and respected by both the party and the community,” the policy states.

To benefit from this policy, leaders must not have left or been expelled from the party. They must have served the party with honor and dedication. The national leadership committee will determine whether a leader has fulfilled these criteria.

The policy seeks to honor retired leaders, protect their dignity, acknowledge their contributions, leverage their ideas for the party’s growth, and support them to the best of the party’s ability.

In honoring these leaders, the party will provide a vehicle, the type of which will be determined by the national leadership committee. Additionally, they will receive a monthly allowance, with the amount also set by this committee.

Other benefits include health insurance. If a leader does not own a home, the party will cover their rent at a rate decided by the committee.

The leadership committee may also grant special recognition based on the leader’s contributions. Retired leaders will participate in decision-making meetings according to procedures outlined in the party’s constitution.

Depending on the party’s resources at the time, the policy may also apply to retired deputy chairpersons for both the mainland and Zanzibar, the Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General for both mainland and Zanzibar, and the party’s Attorney General.

Additionally, leaders, executives, or members with exceptional contributions to the party’s protection, advocacy, and defense may also benefit, as determined by the leadership committee.

Currently, those who are eligible for benefits under this policy include Juma Duni Haji (retired party Chairman) and Zitto Kabwe (retired party leader).Continue Reading