100 million of them circulating in Africa 1,000 people die daily through their use
Vice President, Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal
The weapons are generally threatening Africa's peace, security and sustainable development, said the Vice President, Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal when officially opening the third extraordinary council of ministers in charge of internal security from the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) meeting in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
He said the member states had actively participated in the process of developing the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and therefore have to ratify it to fight the menace.
"It is with deep concern that 875 million small arms and light weapons are in circulation worldwide,” he noted, adding that 665million (75percent) of them are illegally or legally in civilian hands and that 100million are found in Africa.
"Many of these find their way into the illegal market and therefore contribute to destabilising peace and security," Dr Bilal said, noting also that 1,000 innocent people die daily and between 300,000 and 500,000 die yearly worldwide through small arms and light weapons misuse.
He said despite several international, regional and national counter-measures, the menace of small arms and light weapons is still rampant.
"We need to strengthen our joint and concerted efforts and focus on harmonizing our legislation, mounting more joint cross border and simultaneous operations in the region and marking all small arms and light weapons for easily tracing and any other counter initiatives," he told the meeting.
Bilal called on delegates to find permanent solutions and strategies to unveil and uproot syndicates in member states that perpetrate illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons businesses regardless of their status and position in the society.
He said the perpetrators should be mercilessly dealt with, brought before courts so that justice should not only be done but seen to be done.
Earlier briefing participants, Theoneste Mutsindashyaka, RECSA Executive Secretary said already six countries out of 15 member states had signed and ratified the arms trade treaty.
According to him, RECSA expects that before the end of this year at least 10 member states should have signed and ratified the treaty.
Mutsindashyaka admitted that all kind of crimes that happen today in Africa are a result of availability of small arms in circulation.
He said small arms are a threat to the security of the continent and that eight countries out of 15 member states have been strongly affected with small arms and light weapons.
The executive secretary said however that RECSA was also facing financial difficulties that hindered a fully execution of its program across the region.
He challenged some member states that had not paid their contributions to finalize payment so that the body can effectively undertake its strategies that include implementation of the Nairobi protocol on small arms (2004-RECSA region).
Meanwhile, deputy minister for Home Affairs Silima Pereira said the meeting seeks to improve RECSA's financial status, staffing and restructuring.
He explained that the aim is to help address the proliferation of small arms and light weapons professionally and more efficient way.
The deputy minister said that in an effort to implement RECSA strategy, member states have harmonized legislations, shares relevant information and host joint and simultaneous operations to combat small arms that threatens peace and security in the region.
RECSA was established in June 2005 to coordinate actions against proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Great Lakes region and Horn of Africa.
The body brings together fifteen African countries which are; Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Seychelles, Sudan, Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda, the Republic of Congo, Uganda and the host, Tanzania.
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