Briefing on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons
Amani Africa
Date | 14 March, 2019
Tomorrow (14 March) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is scheduled to receive a briefing on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and its impact on the AU plan for Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020. The PSC is expected to receive briefing from the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA). The AU Peace and Security Department (PSD), particularly its division on Defense and Security is expected to brief. Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms are also expected to share their experiences.
The session is initiated by Kenya as the Chair of the month and host of RECSA. As the concept note for the session developed by Kenya indicates, the aim is to identify concrete actions to address the proliferation and circulation of illicit weapons and ammunition in line with the provisions of AU Master Roadmap on Silencing the Guns. The concept note makes reference to the Silencing the Guns Continental Plan of Action (STG-PoA) that is currently being developed by the African Union Commission (AUC) as a framework to operationalize the Master Roadmap. The briefing will also offer an overview of the success and challenges of the efforts undertaken against the proliferation of illicit weapons by particularly focusing on the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region. At its 778th session the PSC stated that ‘illicit flow of arms, particularly small arms and light weapons (SALW), to non-state actors contributes significantly towards various parts of Africa’. exacerbating insecurity and violence in Following its 824th meeting held on February 5 2019, the Council, in a press statement, emphasized the centrality of national institutions in the fight against the proliferation of SALW and further urged ‘Member States to invest more in building and further strengthening their capacities to effectively safeguard national stockpiles of weapons, with a view to preventing weapons and ammunition from falling into wrong hands’.
Building on this, the session is expected to discuss the role of regional organizations and inter-state coordination in mitigating the proliferation and accumulation of illicit arms. AU peace and security frameworks including the Silencing the Guns Roadmap recognize the role of RECs/RMs to design and monitor tailored policy instruments that addresses the specific security situation in their respective regions.
In line with the session’s objective, the briefing by RECSA may provide an overview of the impact of flow of illicit arms and gaps in control measures on peace, stability and development. RECSA’s intervention is expected to shed light on the recent political developments in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes regions and their impact in fostering regional cooperation to eradicate illicit flows of arms and weapons. It may also make reference to the UN Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspect and the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa in order to identify practical steps towards accountability and regulation of non-states actors possession SALW.
The briefing from PSD may highlight challenges around regulatory frameworks, including the lack of protection and management of stockpiles which often lead to diversion of legally sourced arms by illegal non-state actors. The intervention may emphasize on the importance of compliance with international and regional legally binding instruments, including the universal ratification and implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty, as well as the need to strengthen national legislations and institutions. PSD may also speak on the draft AU policy for the management of recovered arms and ammunitions in peace support operations.
The Assembly decision Assembly/AU/Dec. 645 (XXIX) adopted by the 29th Ordinary Session of the AU, has declared the month of September of each year until 2020, as “Africa Amnesty Month” for the surrender and collection of illegally owned weapons and arms. During the commemoration in September 2018 the PSC has urged RECs/RMs to submit reports to the Council, through the AU Commission, on the actions taken in line with the Africa Amnesty Month.
The AUC has also been leading on the development of technical and operational guidelines by the Council to inform national and regional efforts in undertaking activities under the Africa Amnesty Month and a compendium of the success stories and best practices across the continent in implementing voluntary disarmament programs. The PSD may provide status update on the development of such instruments and on following up on national measures.
PSC members may discuss the increased link between the circulation of small arms, terrorism and proliferation of rebel armed movements. The UNSC resolution 2457 on Silencing the Guns in Africa adopted on 27 February 2019 underscored ‘the need for effective implementation of relevant arms control and disarmament instruments and regimes as well as arm embargoes imposed by the United Nations Security Council’. The PSC may urge member states and regional organizations to take measurable actions against the proliferation of illicit weapons and arms, including through the strengthening the criminal justice response and enhancing law enforcement institutions. The PSC may also follow on UNSC resolution 2457, urging international actors to take specific measures of cooperation including in terms of effective regulation of the sale and movement of small arms and light weapons and supporting the sanctioning of illicit flows.
At the time of production of this insight the form that the outcome of the session takes was unknown. The PSC could consider urging member states to strengthen their capacities to vigorously monitor and protect national stockpiles of weapons and recover illegally owned arms. The Council may also call on RECs/RMs to complement the efforts of member states and assist them in developing and implementing national action plans and regional cooperation to curb illicit proliferation of arms. The PSC may reiterate its previous decision by urging compliance with international and regional legal frameworks and task the AU Commission to submit a report on the trends and dynamics of illicit flow of small arms and light weapons and progress made and challenges faced in implementing continentally and regionally agreed measures. The PSC may call on member states in transition from conflict to undertake sustainable disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs to prevent relapse to violence and conflict.
PSC Program of Work for the Month of March 2019
Amani Africa
Date | March 2019
Kenya assumes the role of the monthly chairpersonship of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of March. The provisional program of work includes five main sessions on substantive issues including one country specific update and one open session. During the month, the PSC is scheduled to undertake a field mission and convene an induction retreat with the newly elected and returning PSC members.
The March PSC program of work starts on March 4thwith a briefing on the situation in Somalia. The second agenda item for the day is dedicated for the preparation of the field mission to South Sudan taking place on March 5-8.
After the four day field mission to South Sudan, the PSC will convene on March 12 to adopt the provisional program of work for April and to prepare for the induction of the PSC new members. It is to be recalled that at the recently concluded African Union (AU) Summit, three new members namely Lesotho, Burundi and Algeria have been elected to join the PSC and two, Kenya and Nigeria have been reelected for another term. The new members are expected to commence their three-year term in the PSC on 1 April. They will however start attending the PSC meetings from March 18.
On March 14 the PSC is scheduled to have a briefing on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and its impact on the AU plan for Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020.
This theme forms a major part of the AU Master Roadmap for Silencing the Guns by 2020.
The only open session of the PSC is planned on March 19 and it will focus on the role of women in conflict prevention and post-conflict peace building. The meeting will receive a briefing from the Special Envoy of the AU Commission Chairperson on Women, Peace and Security as well as from AU member states, representative of RECs, UN, non-AU member states and civil society organizations.
On the same day, the PSC will again discuss the preparations for the induction of the PSC new members scheduled to take place by the end of the month.
The next PSC session is scheduled for March 21, where the Council is expected to receive a briefing on the nexus between maritime security, safety and development of the blue economy in Africa. The session is expected to examine the link between peace, security and development within the context of maritime domain and the overall Africa’s economic growth. The session may receive briefings from the Commission in line with instruments such as the existing Charter on Maritime Safety and Security and Development in Africa adopted in October 2016 and the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIMS) adopted in 2014.
On March 26 the PSC will have a monthly update on the implementation of the harmonization of ACIRC into the ASF in line with the PSC decision of its 821st meeting held on 9 January 2019. The PSC tasked the Chair of the month and the Commission to provide monthly updates on the harmonization until July 2019. The Commission is also expected to report on the completion of the harmonization of ACIRC within the ASF by February 2020 at the Ordinary Session of the Assembly.
In the last week of the month, on 27-30 March the induction of the PSC new members is scheduled to take place in Zanzibar.
In addition to these agenda items, the provisional program of the month also envisages in footnotes three items that may be added in the course of the month. The first is the meeting of the committee of experts which the exact dates are yet to be confirmed. The second one is the briefing by the Chairperson of the PSC to the PRC on the activities of the PSC during the month of March. The last footnote provides the timeline for the visit of the Military Staff Committee to the Continental Logistics Base in Doula, Cameroon, on 19-22 March.
Briefing on Darfur and UNAMID
Amani Africa
Date | 26 February, 2019
Tomorrow (26 February) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is scheduled to hold its first briefing of the year on the situation in Darfur and on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur (UNAMID). The Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Head of UNAMID Jeremiah Mamabolo is scheduled to brief the PSC. Ademore Kambudzi, Acting Head of the Peace and Security Department is also expected to deliver a statement on behalf of Smail Chergui, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security. The PSC also expects to hear update statement from the Government of Sudan. The agenda for the session anticipates the participation of the UN office to the AU (UNOAU) and representatives of the African members (A3) of the UN Security Council (UNSC).
In terms of the situation in Darfur, Mamabolo is expected to update the PSC on the developments in the security situation in Darfur since the PSC’s last meeting of 19 September 2018. Like the October 2018 report of the Secretary-General, his latest report covering 4 October 2018 to 3 January, noted that the security situation in Darfur remains relatively stable except for intermittent clashes between government forces and the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid in the Jebel Marra area. It also indicates improvements noting in particular the decline in inter-communal violence and human rights violations, enabling some internally displaced persons to return to their place of origin.
It is to be recalled that one area of concern highlighted in the PSC field visit to Darfur and the communiqué on its field mission report has been the treatment of internally displaced persons and the challenges surrounding clashes over land including for IDPs seeking to return to their place of origin.
In this regard, its communiqué of the 773rd meeting highlighted the ‘need to urgently and equitably address the land tenure issues as it relates to the returnees’. The Secretary-General’s latest report also observed that the underlying causes of the conflict remain unaddressed. This is one area on which the briefing from Mamabolo is expected to provide some update to the PSC.
It is to be recalled that the various communiqués of the PSC (communiqués of its 778th and 794th sessions) and notably its communiqué of the 773rd session urged ‘the Government of Sudan to intensify efforts towards addressing the root causes of conflict in Darfur, including the return of the IDPs.’ PSC members may wish to learn about the government’s specific plans and concrete measures in these respects.
Members of the PSC would wish to follow up on the effort for achieving political settlement, particularly with groups that are not signatories to the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) as highlighted in its 794th session. In this respect, some progress has been observed. The African Union High-level Implementation Panel on Sudan and South Sudan (AUHIP) convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 22-23 November 2018 with the Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) and the Gibril Ibrahim faction of the Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM-Gibril), focusing on achieving a pre-negotiation framework that would facilitate the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement and the resumption of political negotiations. On 6 December 2018, at a meeting in Berlin, Germany the government of Sudan and the SLA-MM and JEMGibril signed a pre-negotiation agreement, providing for the resumption of negotiations within the framework of the DDPD, under the auspices of the AUHIP.
Despite this slow progress and the renewal by these groups of their cessation of hostilities until February, fighting has not completely stopped. With respect to UNAMID, developments relating to
the benchmarks in the exit process of UNAMID are of particular interest. It is to be recalled that its communiqué of the 778th session ‘while welcoming the proposal by the Special Report of the Secretary General and the AU Commission Chairperson that the UNAMID would exit on 30 June 2020 and its liquidation be completed by December 2020,’ the PSC noted that consideration should be given to ‘[e]nsuring a gradual drawdown that would allow the Mission’s exit to be guided by the political and security situation on the ground so as not to create a security vacuum and expose civilian populations’.
As expected to be highlighted in Mamabolo’s briefing, it is of interest for the PSC that the October 2018 report of the Secretary General contained proposed ‘benchmarks and indicators of achievement’ for the eventual exit of UNAMID with a view towards this exit taking place in 2020, ‘provided that there is no significant change in the security situation in Darfur and key indicators are fulfilled’. Also of significance for the PSC to note is the UNSC presidential statement of Cote d’Ivoire of 10 December that requested the Secretary-General, and invited the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, to provide detailed reporting on the progress made towards achieving the benchmarks and indicators attaching ‘particular priority to progress against the benchmarks and indicators focused on protection of civilians, particularly relating to internally displaced persons and returning refugees, human rights, rule of law, the humanitarian situation, and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in the regular 90-day reports’.
A key issue that may be raised during the briefing is the challenge around resource and financial mobilization to support the implementation of the transition to plan. The UNSC presidential statement makes reference to the need for resources not only to the successful attainment of the benchmarks and indicators but also to the long-term transition to peacebuilding and development.
In line with the timetable adopted by the UNSC, the UNAMID troops have been reduced from 8,735 to 5,470 and the number of police officers has also been lowered from 800 to 760 by the end of December 2018. The upcoming joint UN and AU assessment mission in March will review the reconfiguration of UNAMID in light of the set benchmarks and present report both to the PSC and UNSC.
Beyond troop reduction, the transition plan includes the transfer of various locations to the control of the Government of Sudan. In a press statement that UNAMID issued on 20 December 2018, it reported that it concluded the closure and handing over of 10 team sites to the Government of Sudan. In the
statement UNAMID urged the Government of Sudan to use the facilities for non-military civilian purposes, including to ‘contribute towards institutions such as universities, hospitals and schools, that meet critical needs of health and education, while benefiting large parts of communities.’
It is of interest for the PSC to inquire from Mamabolo if there are aspects of the situation in Darfur and UNAMID’s exit processes that, in the assessment of UNAMID, could be affected by these ongoing political instability in Sudan, most notably the most recent declaration of state of emergency
and the removal of state governors. The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. On the situation in Darfur, the PSC could reiterate its earlier concerns on the challenges facing IDPs and returnees and the need for addressing the underlying conflict drivers in Darfur such as those leading to inter-communal clashes, including land issues and resource distribution. The communiqué could also welcome the progress towards inclusive political settlement and the need for not losing momentum. With respect to UNAMID’s exit process, the communiqué could take note of the benchmarks and indicators of progress contained in the UN Secretary-General and the UNSC’s Presidential statement calling for periodic reports using the benchmarks and indicators for assessing progress, which is in line with the PSC’s communiqué of the 778th session. The PSC may also wish to request that UNAMID monitors and provides feedback on the impact of the overall situation in Sudan on Darfur and the mission.
