African legislators in campaign to address gun violence

According to a recent study by Oxfam, the human cost of uncontrolled arms include injuries, forced population movement, erosion of trust, poverty and gender based violence.

“The risk of gender based violence heightens in conflict situations and it is estimated that more than 45 percent of African women have experienced violence as a result of armed conflict, this is unacceptable,”  Karin Olofsson, the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons, told the PAP session on Saturday.

Parliamentarians noted that political will was key to reducing armed violence. The two-day regional seminar seeks to increase parliamentarians understanding and ownership of international instruments that guide and regulate conventional arms as well as promote increased parliamentary participation and action in international processes. The seminar aligns with the African Union flagship initiative of silencing the guns by 2020, which aims at realizing a conflict free Africa and liberate future generations from the burden of conflict.

PAP President, Roger Nkodo Dang said Africa’s development is affected negatively by the proliferation of small arms and weapons. He said legislators should search for solutions to the problem by addressing the origin of the problem. He said it is an uphill task for Africa to combat small arms and light weapons because it does not produce or export arms.

“We need to have legislation against small arms and light weapons. People must know that if they have weapons, the consequence will be heavy, and if they use these arms, the consequences will even be heavier,” Ignatienne Nyirarukundo, a legislator from Rwanda, said.

On the regulation of guns in the hands of private security firms, legislators noted that in most African countries, private security companies exist in a context where the state lacks the capacity or resources to provide effective security for its citizens. Legislators observed that policy making on small arms would require the understanding of which role private security companies play and how best to regulate them.

The workshop noted that in their legislative role, MPs can introduce legislation or propose review of existing laws on small arms and light weapons linked to private security companies. In its representative role, MPs can raise issues of national concern by identifying threats posed by unregulated private security companies. And through its oversight role, MPs can ensure that the Executive upholds and implements its international commitments with regards to the various Treaties, Conventions and Protocols.

The Arms Trade Treaty, adopted by the UN General Assembly to regulate the international trade in conventional arms, came into force in 2014. To date, 89 states have ratified it with 130 signatory states.