Searched the resource database for : All Results AND Regions=Southern Africa AND Topic=Small Arms, Light Weapons and Landmines
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Abstract: Air transportation has played a key role in the transfer of weapons, narcotics and precious
minerals, fuelling the war economies that have devastated much of Africa in recent decades.
At the same time, those air cargo carriers transporting these commodity flows that have
been so destabilizing are also involved in humanitarian aid and peacekeeping missions.
Air transport companies named in United Nations Sanctions Committee reports covering
weapons deliveries to Angola, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast,
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe have all serviced humanitarian aid or
peacekeeping operations. They may avoid scrutiny by registering their aircraft in “flag of
convenience” states where safety oversight is poor and corruption is common. As a result,
their aircraft have crashed more frequently than others, sometimes with narcotics,
weapons, humanitarian aid or peacekeeping officials on board.
Abstract: Brian Johnson-Thomas and Peter Danssaert argue in favor of ratifying the international Arms Trade Treaty, which would consolidate existing international law against arms trafficking and make it easier to prosecute people and organizations that funnel arms across borders. The paper highlights a series of illuminating case studies on Zimbabwean arms transfers from the past 18 months. The authors argue that these cases could be better combated if the treaty were ratified. The paper is short and to the point, its evidence is well-documented, and it makes a compelling argument in favor of an Arms Trade Treaty that would “require States to strictly regulate arms brokering, transport, and finance,” thus better enabling countries to combat the traffic in small arms.
The paper considers three case studies of arms movement in and out of Zimbabwe, including last April’s “ship of shame affair,” a deal brokered to allow weapons to flow from China to Zimbabwe. A second case study focuses on the movement of weapons and weapon parts from Zimbabwe to Montenegro and the United States this winter.
Danssaert and Johnson-Thomas also provide concrete evidence that entities within the Democratic Republic of the Congo provided Zimbabwe with several ammunitions shipments amounting to at least 53 tons during an eight-day period in 2008. The paper cites the most recent U.N. Group of Experts report, which called Congolese stockpile management “nonexistent” and noted, “The Government does not know how many of its arms are stored at which depots and with which units.” The case provides yet another stark reminder of the practical result of the Congolese government’s inability to control its army: a sizeable influx of weapons to a Zimbabwean regime willing to take drastic measures to maintain power and exploit its country’s resources for its own good.
Abstract: In a region apparently awash with weapons and plagued with rising levels of
armed crime, Malawi is a welcome exception to these characteristics. In early
2007 there were only 9,320 legally registered firearms in Malawi excluding
those used by the security forces, compared to just under 87,000 in Zambia and nearly 4 million in South Africa. Though a country of an estimated 13 million people,
in the 5 years between 1996 and 2000 Malawi suffered just 2,161 reported
cases of armed robbery. For 2005
the figure was 316 and for 2004 it was 263, according to figures provided by the
Malawi Police Service (MPS). Even leaving aside South Africa, where there were
119,726 recorded cases of aggravated robbery in 2006, Malawi’s
armed crime statistics still compare favourably with the rest of the region. In
neighbouring Zambia, for example, where there is a population of only 10
million people, there were 3,168 reported cases of armed robbery in the 5 years
between 1998 and 2002.
Abstract: The problem of civilians becoming unintentional victims of landmine detonation in the world today is one that cannot be underestimated in terms of its importance to global and local humanitarian efforts. The human-life and financial costs associated with landmine detonation are paramount, and are being addressed by the Global community via the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping and its associated agency UNMAS (The United Nations Mine Action Service). In terms of human-life cost, the current statistic is that every 28 seconds a person steps on a landmine, resulting in 6500 – 20,000 new casualties per year. These tragic events are happening in at least 84 states, and every world region is affected. It is the intent of this literature review to enlighten the reader in two main topic areas. The first is that of mine action and our understanding of it, with specific regard to what is generally understood to be the most affected continent: Africa. A comprehensive description and discussion of the geo-political status of mine action in Southern Africa and its relation to development will be set out.
The second topic area that will be reviewed is that of predictive GIS modeling, as it applies to mine action. The intent is to put forth the scientific (i.e.: based on peer-reviewed publications) background information that justifies and supports an experiment that will be conducted. The goal, in general lay terms, will be to see whether it is possible to predict with a reasonable, usable, and repeatable amount of accuracy the delineating outlines of where minefields are located in a specific geographical study area. It is hoped that the effort with predictive GIS modeling will yield a technique that is valid for use across a variety of study areas. Having said this, the study area that is the concentration of this review is the region of Southern Africa and it must be acknowledged that the results, if positive, may not be transferrable to different Geo-political regions.
Abstract: Young people are potentially a tremendous force for change in conflict-affected countries
for both good and bad. Directing the energy of youth towards reconstruction is
a challenge and requires rapid interventions in the areas of education, family life and
health, economic empowerment and civic participation.
Abstract: Humanitarian mine action refers to activities undertaken to reduce the effect caused by land-mines and other explosive remnants of war in terms of social, economic and environmental impact of mines. The objective is the reduction of risk to a level where people can live safely and where economic, social, and health development can occur without hindrance from land-mines. This report documents how Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) are working in humanitarian mine action. Case studies are presented include Bosnia Herzegovina, Cambodia and Croatia, Ethiopia and Iraq and Malawi.
The document recommends that the mine action community needs to develop, implement and standardise new globally accepted methods and approaches to de-mining. Full mine and battle area clearance is costly and time consuming; hence such activities should be a last option, only to be used when the presence of land-mines and/or explosive remnants of war has been confirmed by technical survey. The immediate objective of mine action programmes should be to release land suspected to be hazardous as cost efficiently as possible and with a quality that meets the requirements of international and national mine action standards. NPA believes that land can be released through three different actions:
* cancellation: the process in which an area is released based on information gathered and analysis only
* reduction: the process in which one or more mine clear- ance tools have been used to gather information about the presence/absence of mines
* clearance: "full clearance" according to International and National Standards for Mine Action.
Abstract: Ce chapitre examine les caractéristiques du détournement d’armes possédées par les civils, les compagnies de sécurité privées et
le secteur de la sécurité publique (police et forces de défense nationale) en Afrique du Sud dans les années suivant la réforme de
la loi nationale sur les armes à feu. Ce chapitre cherche à déterminer les effets de cette nouvelle législation sur le détournement
d’armes appartenant à ces différents groupes et à comprendre dans quelles mesures les civils et les forces de sécurité respectent
les nouvelles obligations imposées par la loi.
Cette étude montre que les armes originellement possédées par des civils représentent la majorité écrasante du total d’armes
volées et égarées en Afrique du Sud. En parallèle, bien que le contrôle des armes à feu possédées par l’Etat se soit amélioré depuis
1994, les « fuites » d’armes continuent à être un problème nécessitant d’avantage de mesures administratives. La décision gouvernementale
visant à interdire la publication des données relatives aux crimes et à la mortalité de la période 2000-2006 constitue un
obstacle majeur à toute évaluation exhaustive des effets du Firearm Control Act (FCA) de 2000.
Abstract: This paper evaluates the economic returns to improved households access to infrastructure, public services and land in the context of a large landmine clearance program in post-war Mozambique. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines production and use estimates that there are more than 80 billion landmines in the ground in more than 80 countries. Despite the scale of the problem and large investments by OECD countries to clear mines in low income countries, the economic consequences of landmine contamination have been so
far unexamined by economists working on the economics of wars, perhaps due to the lack of data thus far. The evaluation uses a unique dataset on landmine contamination intensity covering 126 Mozambican districts to evaluate the causal impact of landmine contamination on income and welfare. The method uses a difference-in-difference estimator to correct for selection in landmine placement. I find large and statistically significant effects of landmine contamination on poverty (in level and depth) and consumption per capita. Hence, the cost-benefit analysis indicates that despite the high cost to clear a mine under reasonable assumptions the program generates a positive return.
Abstract: Du 31 octobre au 2 novembre 2005, le Secrétariat de la Banque Mondiale/MDRP a organisé un atelier de consultation visant à renforcer le genre dans les programmes nationaux du MDRP. Environ 80 participants provenant de sept délégations nationales (Angola, Burundi, République Centrafricaine, République Démocratique du Congo, République du Congo, Rwanda et Ouganda), l’UNICEF, le PNUD, l’ONUB, la MONUC, l’UNIFEM, la société civile et le Secrétariat du MDRP y ont participé ainsi que des experts internationaux en matière du genre et du DDR, de même que les femmes ex-combattantes de la région.
Abstract: Le produit le plus récent et le plus détaillé à être conçu par securitehumaine-villes.org, cette publication s'appuie sur les travaux de 40 collaborateurs externes qui appliquent un prisme urbain à des thèmes tels que les enfants et les conflits armés, la réforme des systèmes de sécurité, les armes de petit calibre et les armes légères, la stabilisation et la reconstruction, la consolidation de la paix et la promotion de la démocratie.
Abstract: At least 440 sites are still heavily infested by landmines near residential districts in three Mozambican provinces, a non-governmental organisation working with the disabled said on Thursday.
Abstract: On 1 January 2005 the South African government launched its most ambitious effort to remove surplus and unwanted guns and reduce the number of illegal guns in circulation in South Africa.1 By 30 June, just over 100 000 firearms had been collected.2 This paper reviews the process of the 2005 firearms amnesty with particular focus on station level; assesses the meaning and impact of the amnesty, examining the factors for success; and offers suggestions for consideration for future amnesties.
Contrary to popular belief that most of the guns collected during the six-month amnesty period were licensed weapons surrendered by legal gun holders, most of the firearms removed from circulation were illegal. Of the total of 100 006 firearms that were handed in, by definition 53 435 were illegal weapons. Of these, 33 823 were surrendered by people who were in xe2x80x98unlawful possession' of the weapon, through negligence, such as failing to register the gun, or through having a xe2x80x98deceased estate' firearm. Some were confiscated firearms that had been recovered at the scene of a crime during day-to-day police activities (17 665) or through special operations such as Sethunya II (1 947). The remaining 46 631 were registered weapons that were surrendered by licensed owners.
Considering the widespread loss and theft of firearms in South Africa and the use of guns in violent crime, the removal from circulation of over 100 000 guns represents a substantial victory in the fight against the use of guns in violent crime. Given the prevalence of the use of handguns in violent crime, the removal of over 70 000 revolvers and pistols is significant.
Abstract: This one-year project is for a core network of seven established African Non-Governmental Organisations to embark upon a process of benchmarking the performance of key African governments in respect of human security issues, measured against the commitments taken at the level at OAU/AU heads of state meetings.
Abstract: On 26 and 27 May 2005, United Nations Dialogue with the Global South and the Department of International Relations at University of the Witwatersrand co-hosted a consultation and workshop on the regional dynamics of human security. Participants in the meeting included some 30 researchers, academics and policy makers from South Africa, particularly the greater Johannesburg area, and academics from selected universities in China, Egypt, India and Mexico. (See Addendum 1 for a list of participants.) The purpose of the meeting was to engage the academic and research communities in a discussion of the concept of human security and its relationship to current proposals for United Nations reform. The meeting, generously supported by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security, also provided an opportunity for participants to explore regional differences in human security concerns and to identify priority issues for further research. United Nations Dialogue with the Global South is a three year pilot project that was initiated by the United Nations in 2004 with support from the United Nations Foundation. The goal of the project is to establish research links and ongoing collaboration between the three United Nations departments directly responsible for peace and security issues and partner universities located in the Global South. The partner universities include the American University in Cairo, Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, the National University of Mexico, Tsinghua University in China and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg. This meeting, generously hosted by Wits, provided the first opportunity for representatives of the partner universities to meet and discuss their further collaboration. The discussions during the two-day meeting were facilitated by the proposals contained in three high profile reports: Human Security Now: Protecting and Empowering People; by the Commission on Human Security; the United Nations Secretary-General's High Level Panel report, A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility; and the United Nations Secretary-General's report, In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All.
Abstract: Since the recommitment to peace in April 2002, great improvements have been achieved in the implementation of the national mine action programme in Angola. While the national authority is well established, the extension of authority and coordination to the provinces is ongoing. This, and the process of elaborating Provincial Plans through the first half of 2004, has in turn provided an opportunity to engage more consistently with national institutions and organisations in their participation in the national programme. Despite the positive developments of the past year, Angola remains the most mine-affected country in sub-Saharan Africa, and indeed one of the most mined countries in the world.
Abstract: Since the end of fighting in 1992, Mozambique has made a successful transition from conflict to post-conflict and development. Still, one of the legacies of the 16-year conflict has been a continued presence of landmines in all 10 of the country's provinces. In response to this problem, the government established the National Demining Institute (IND) to manage Mozambique's mine action process. The National Mine Action Strategy developed by the Government of Mozambique within the framework of the current context, aims at reducing the risk of death of the population living in the country, supporting the government's strategy for poverty alleviation, and addressing current country's development challenges and priorities.
Abstract: Historically, freedom fighters have used Zambia as a safe haven from conflicts taking place in several neighbouring countries. This has left Zambia with explosive remnants of war (ERW) and mines in areas once used by warring factions. Much of the fighting has ended, but its legacy remains, particularly along the country's borders. The Government of Zambia formed an Anti-Personnel Mines Committee on 11 December 2003xe2x80x94in line with the signing of the Antipersonnel Mine-Ban Treatyxe2x80x94to carry out and implement policies. An executive secretariat called the Zambia Anti-Personnel Mines Action Centre (ZAMAC) was established in October 2001 with the assistance from the United States government. ZAMAC's capacity has been built through training and the provision of equipment.
Abstract: Most African countries fall within the area of responsibility of the U.S. European Command (which also covers Europe and the former republics of the Soviet Union). However, a number of countries in northeast Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan, and Kenya) and the Seychelles are within the area of responsibility of the U.S. Central Command; the U.S. Pacific Command covers the Comoros, Madagascar, and the Indian Ocean, including the island of Diego Garcia. These commands (along with the U.S. Special Operations Command and the various branches of the armed forces, i.e. the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines) are responsible for conducting active military operations in Africa, including training exercises, humanitarian relief, peacekeeping, evacuating civilians from unstable countries, and other operations. Most arms sales are conducted through the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which falls under the authority of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Certain military hardware (including handguns, rifles, shotguns, electronics#, police equipment and crowd control chemicals, and explosives) is sold under a licensing program administered by the Office of Defense Trade Controls under the authority of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.
Abstract: The end of the Cold War was marked by disillusion with global ideological
confrontation and the exhaustion of proxy struggles, as well as a new sense of
global insecurity. The ensuing shifts in direction and emphasis ushered in new
actors and new strategies with the continuation of global competition. Used to
capitalising on the different opportunities in their battle to survive, the Angolan
warring parties were superbly adapted to benefit from the post Cold War environment
using it as a multiplier force for war rather than as an excuse for peace.
This chapter attempts to show that the will and urgency for war, although not
entirely dependent on material resources, is invariably affected by them. It also
attempts to demonstrate that the renewable tools for the Angolan war are nothing
more nor less than the practical adaptation of existing means to pursue the
object of war, and that the object of war itself has become indistinguishable with
the means needed to keep the war going.
Abstract: The endowment of natural resources has often been associated with disappointing economic development. This phenomenon is referred to in the literature as the " resource curse, " which hypothesizes that economies experiencing resource booms, either through price increases or new discoveries, will experience unsustainable growth rates. There are various mechanisms through which a resource-boom can negatively impact on an economy. For instance, it can lead to excessive government expenditure during the boom period and drastic cuts when the boom ends; detrimental impacts on non-boom tradable sectors; inefficient investment beyond the absorptive capacity of the country; and rent seeking behavior. By exploring the case of the mineral boom in Botswana, this paper will demonstrate that the resource curse is not necessarily the fate of resource abundant countries. The adoption of sound economic policies and the good management of windfall gains have allowed Botswana to continuously manage growth and to become one of the great success stories of developing countries.
Abstract: Small arms proliferation is a serious threat to stability and development in many of the
countries that make up the SADC community in the African sub-continent. The protracted
period of warfare in Mozambique and conflicts in the Great Lakes Region have created a
massive availability of illegal small arms. In the case of the Great Lakes conflicts (more
specifically the conflict in the DRC), the availability of illegal small arms has merely increased
the availability of weapons that existed from Mozambique. Angola, where there
may now finally be peace, is another issue. An inadequate disarmament process, such as
the one in Mozambique, would only add to the small arms proliferation crisis that besets
Sub-Saharan Africa.
SADC Member States signed the "Declaration on Firearms, Ammunition and other related
Materials in SADC" in March 2001, which indicates their intent to grapple with the issue of
small arms control. Some mechanisms are already in place addressing the issue. There
have been bilateral interventions, notably between South Africa and Mozambique, but issues
of multilateral co-operation and co-ordination are never simple, and the SAC proliferation
issue is, in itself, complex and multi-faceted.
Malawi is a Member State of SADC and faces its own small arms proliferation problems.
These will not be solved unilaterally (nor for that matter will the problems of other SADC
members). Regional engagement will be needed. Malawi is an end-user and, probably, a
transit state in terms of the SADC region's problem with small arms proliferation.
This report is part of what will be a two or three-phase project to identify whether or not a
German Development Co-operation SAC initiative will take place in Malawi or within the
context of the SADC Region. A cautious approach to the issue has been adopted and
rightfully so, as it is imperative that any German initiative makes a meaningful and sustainable
impact on the small arms issue.
Abstract: Post-apartheid South Africa has seen marked declines in military expenditure but
it still spends sixty percent of the total for sub-Saharan Africa, and there seems
little chance of this changing. In light of tremendous need in areas such as
housing, health, and education, there would appear to have been the potential for
converting for civilian purposes the resources monopolized by the military under
apartheid, yet this has not happened. There seemed to be little hope for its arms
industry, yet it survived and its prospects are improving. Despite the changes in polity
and economy and the pressing social and economic problems in the country, the new
South Africa has committed itself to maintaining a high degree of militarization.
Abstract: Since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975, Angola has faced many landmine challenges as a result of civil wars. Mines that were laid during conflicts now litter the environment, blocking roads and bridges and contaminating agricultural fields. These mines prove a constant threat to the people of the country as well as to those who are working to prevent future accidents through mine removal. Fernando Arroyo of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Huambo, Angola, said, "Everyone ... appears to have buried landmines here. You'll find Portuguese mines from the 1960s, Cuban mines from the 1970s, South African mines from the 1980s and Chinese mines scattered in between. Nobody kept records."1 Angola faced more war in 1992 when a peace agreement with National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) unraveled.
Abstract: On 1 January 2005 government launched the largest ever firearms amnesty. By 31 March 50,233 firearms had
been surrendered. Due to public demand, the amnesty was extended to 30 June. This article assesses the
impact of the first three months of the amnesty. Although media coverage focused on the illegal weapons
handed in, the nearly 28,000 licensed guns surrendered represent just over one year's supply of lost guns that
will now not enter the illegal market. And considering the widespread use of handguns in violent crime, the
removal of over 43,000 handguns from circulation represents a substantial victory.
Abstract: This report presents an overview of the situation of landmine victim assistance in the 24 States Parties to the Ottawa Convention identified as having hundreds or thousands of landmine survivors - Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Croatia, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Perxc3xba, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uganda and Yemen.4 Country-by-country information on six key issues is presented: landmine casualties and data collection; emergency and continuing medical care; physical rehabilitation; psychological support and social reintegration; economic reintegration; and, status and implementation of disability legislation. Information is also provided on general issues affecting the provision of mine victim assistance. The report is intended to raise awareness of the rights and needs of mine survivors and other persons with disabilities in the 24 countries. Furthermore, the report is intended to provide the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration with an overview of the known situation of landmine victim assistance in 2004, and thereby provide the baseline on which to measure progress on the implementation of the Nairobi Action Plan over the next five years to 2009.
