By Clovis Atatah & Nformi Sonde
A visiting United Nations official has observed that locally manufactured firearms in Cameroon are posing a threat to peace and security. Ivor Richard Fung, Director of the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, who headed a
mission to Cameroon, from May 12 - 15, told reporters in Yaounde, May 14, that artisan-produced firearms that were initially meant for cultural ceremonies and hunting are now being used by highway robbers and other armed bandits.
He said a disturbing trend is the increasing sophistication of these artisan-produced firearms. Fung said the locally produced firearms and the industrially manufactured ones now have similar levels of technological sophistication and can be used for the same purposes. Both have the same lethal effect, Fung said.
The head of the UN mission, however, observed with satisfaction that there is no arms industry in Cameroon. However, he hoped that Cameroon would pass new legislation in the near future to regulate the local manufacture of firearms. He said the aim of the UN is not to advocate the abolition of artisan manufacture of firearms, but simply to regulate the sector.
Speaking in the presence of Mme. Bennani Fatima, Acting Coordinator of the UN System in Cameroon, and Mme. Anne Nsang, UN Information Officer, Fung said the objective of his mission was to do an inventory of the national production capacity of small arms and light weapons.
Apart from Cameroon, the delegation will also do an inventory in nine other African countries that are participating in the UN's pilot project, Small Arms Transparency and Control Regime in Africa, SATCRA.
The inventory seeks to promote transparency in information on small arms; document and regulate the manufacture of small arms in Africa; and to establish an arms register. The other countries participating in the project include Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Gabon, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Togo.
After the UN mission in Cameroon, a national consultant will have three months to complete the national inventory on Cameroon's production capacity on small arms and light weapons. The consultant should be able to establish the true picture of the artisan manufacture and sale of firearms and munitions in Cameroon.Eventually, the UN will support Cameroon to work on the legislation to regulate the production of small arms and light weapons in the country.
The UN is also interested in the storage of small arms and light weapons. According to Fung, the stockpiling of small arms and light weapons often poses a security threat. He said storage facilities are sometimes inadequate or not secure. There have been cases in which armouries have been broken into and weapons stolen. This poses a problem because such weapons subsequently find their way into illegal circulation.
In addition, some armouries become dilapidated and that poses a serious security threat, too, Fung said. He cited the explosions at the armoury at the Military Headquarters in Yaounde a few years ago and the explosions in another armoury in Lagos in 2003 that led to the deaths of hundreds of people.
That is why, Fung said, the second phase of the SATCRA project will focus on increasing the capacity of African countries to store arms.
He said the UN is particularly concerned about small arms and light weapons in Africa because these are the weapons that are generally used on the continent and can be more easily obtained by individuals and groups than heavy weapons.
SATCRA ultimately aims at ensuring peace and security in Africa by addressing questions relating to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. The project encourages transparency in military and security matters, but will ensure that it does not jeopardise national security.
The UN Regional Centre launched SATCRA in October 2003 for Peace and Disarmament in Africa.
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