Govt prepares to tackle illegal arms trafficking

Namibia has launched a National Action Plan (NAP) as part of a regional initiative to tackle trafficking in illegal small arms and light weapons. The NAP would "effectively and comprehensively deal with and address the proliferation of weapons within our borders and the Southern African Development Community (SADC)," said President Hifikepunye Pohamba at the launch of the plan on Friday. The four-year action plan, which spells out government's arms trafficking control measures is in line with international agreements. 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. An unsuccessful secession attempt in the northern Caprivi region in August 1999 reportedly relied on weapons supplied by UNITA rebels across the border in neighbouring Angola. The separatist movement was quickly crushed by the authorities and over 120 men are currently being tried on treason charges for allegedly belonging to the Caprivi Liberation Army. Despite bordering Angola, which endured 27 years of civil war until 2002, the level of illicit arms trafficking in Namibia is thought to be relatively low. "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", said local researcher Martin Boer in his book 'Hide and Seek - Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa'. Besides Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are possible sources of illicit weapons, said Clare Jefferson of the NGO, SaferAfrica. The Trans-Caprivi Highway links all three countries, and "small arms are easy to carry and very mobile," she explained. Namibia and Botswana are among the first SADC members to draw up a national plan to combat trafficking under the regional protocol on the control of firearms, ammunition and other related materials. Countries like Lesotho and Swaziland are also considering adopting similar action plans, said Jefferson. Under the NAP, 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.