Govt launches plan to tackle arms trafficking

Namibia has launched a National Action Plan (NAP) to tackle trafficking in illegal small arms and light weapons. At the launch of the plan, President Hifikepunye Pohamba said the NAP was approved in November 2004, which demonstrated the commitment of the Namibian government to "effectively and comprehensively deal with and address the proliferation of weapons within our borders and the Southern African Development Community (SADC)". The four-year action plan spells out government's arms trafficking control measures and training of law enforcement personnel in disarmament among other related issues. Despite several amnesty periods since Namibia gained independence in 1990, in which unlicensed weapons used during the liberation struggle could be handed in or declared, illegal small arms were still believed to be in circulation. The Namibian Defence Force squashed the unsuccessful secession attempt in the Caprivi Region in August 1999 immediately. The secession plotters allegedly bought their arms in neighbouring Angola from the UNITA rebels. However, with a population of 1.82 million and peace prevailing since independence in 1990, the level of illicit arms trafficking in Namibia was thought to be low. According to local researcher Martin Boer, there were less than 100,000 privately owned, licensed firearms. "The police national database of 2004 contained entries for 97,262 firearm licences", said Boer in his book "Hide and Seek - Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa". The book was the result of a regional research project covering arms control in nine of the 13 SADC states, which are each required to draw up a national plan to tackle arms trafficking. "Sources, who were unwilling to speak on record, claim that the number of illegal firearms [in Namibia] far exceed the number of legal ones, especially in the northern regions, but they provide no evidence to substantiate those claims", Boer said. Namibia held its first national conference on illegal firearms, organised by the NGOs, Saferworld and SaferAfrica in 2002. This led to the creation of a National Focal Point (NFP) on arms management and disarmament to raise public awareness, and combat and eradicate the spread of small arms and light weapons. The ministry of home affairs chairs the NFP, with the Namibian police as the lead agency; other members are the president's office, the defence force, the customs and excise department, the wildlife section of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and the prosecutor-general's office. The Namibia Non-Governmental Organisations' Forum represents the civil society in the NFP. The NFP drew up NAP after holding consultative workshops in each of the country's 13 political regions last year. In terms of the plan, all existing legislation and regulations on arms and ammunition are to be reviewed - including stockpile management, administrative procedures dealing with firearms, explosives and related materials - in order to draw up national guidelines. Boer said Namibia faced two major challenges in striving to meet the commitments it was signatory to: "The first is a lack of resources to implement these agreements and the other is the porous border with Angola." According to the NAP, the movement of small arms and light weapons along Namibia's borders will be controlled more intensively and coordinated with the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Council Organisation. Funding for the plan - approximately US $2 million - will be raised from the donor community.