Proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALWs) continues to undermine development, the security of citizens and good governance in Africa. Author Nelson Alusala reports on the status of SALWs and disarmament in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad. The monograph includes historical, political and cultural context for each country’s struggles to control SALWs, and recommends actions to control SALWs and arms trafficking.
The following political and social dynamics in central Africa fuel the increasing demand for SALWs:
- inter-ethnic competition for regional natural resources has produced a large population of refugees. Rebel movements form as a result of the refugee phenomenon, increasing the demand for weapons for armed conflict;
- resistance groups conducting guerrilla warfare against governments target civilians and raid villages, increasing the demand for SALWs for civilian self-defence;
- governments and rebel groups continue to form alliances against one another, further increasing the demand for arms; and
- armed violence fosters a culture of violence, illegality and irresponsibility.
Country-specific research produced the following findings:
- The CAR’s long history of armed conflict has produced a pervasive sense of insecurity among its citizens. The government has had difficulty monitoring and controlling its ports and borders, thus increasing the flow of SALWs. There has been some recent success disarming former combatants, but fresh threats of further armed resistance raises concerns.
- Chad’s political and economic problems are linked to the proliferation of SALWs. Plagued by poor governance and authoritarian leadership, a high level of gun ownership by citizens and an identifiable gun culture has emerged. The availability of SALWs has enabled opposition groups to launch a recent series of armed assaults on urban areas, including the capital city.
- The DRC also contends with the link between non-state armed groups and the proliferation of SALWs. Experimental disarmament initiatives in the country have had mixed results. The DRC suffers ongoing violence in the east where there are a high number of armed civilians.
While all three countries have attempted to control the flow of arms, a robust commitment to arms control and the implementation of stronger mechanisms to do so is urgently needed. African governments and people need to take responsibility for their own future. Peacebuilding should include not only conflict resolution, but mechanisms to control arms and increase the transparency of the legal arms trade.
The following common measures could be applied in each country:
- the international community, African governments and the African Union should begin arms reduction processes;
- national legislation is needed to control arms possession, the arms trade and stockpile management. Control of goods at airports, seaports and borders needs better monitoring;
- enforcement of arms embargoes is needed in countries suffering armed conflict;
- disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes should be established early in peace processes, equal and parallel to conflict resolution and peace building programmes;
- civil society programmes should contribute to the reduction of SALWs through public awareness programmes on the dangers SALWs and the value of non-violent conflict resolution; and
- increased police capacity, stricter import/export criteria and regional action to implement arms control in neighbouring countries.
