African solutions to an international problem: arms control and disarmament in Africa.

• Author: Lamb, Guy

In February 1994, Robert Kaplan published a highly controversial article in the influential Atlantic Monthly titled, "The Coming Anarchy." Kaplan prophesized that a combination of "scarcity, crime, overpopulation, tribalism and disease" would swiftly undermine the social fabric of the world we know. (1) Africa, and especially West Africa, was depicted as one of the key ground zero sites. Kaplan's article has been widely read and debated by both academics and policymakers.

One and a half decades later, Kaplan's doomsday predictions are yet to be realized. States and citizens, in Africa and elsewhere, remain challenged by the problems identified in "The Coming Anarchy," but the prospect of a continent-wide social meltdown seems an unlikely short- to medium-term scenario. In Africa, some of the conditions of human security have arguably improved. In particular, there has been a quantifiable decrease in the occurrence of major armed conflict. Between 1998 and 2002, Africa was the region with the highest number of major armed conflicts compared to the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. (2) Africa experienced on average eight distinct major armed conflicts each year during this five-year period. However, between 2003 and 2006 the number of major armed conflicts decreased to three per annum; in 2007, only one major armed conflict was observed in Africa. (3)

Despite this decrease in the number of major armed conflicts, Africa currently remains affected by a series of intense minor armed conflicts. (4) These conflicts brew in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Darfur region of Sudan and Somalia; they all have the potential to significantly destabilize much of central and eastern Africa. The existence of armed non-state groups in the Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria, as well as the high levels of firearms crime and violence in urban centers in Kenya and South Africa remains a critical human security concern. Small arms and light weapons are among the key tools used to foment violence in Africa. The proliferation of such weapons and related ammunition has intensified and prolonged violent conflicts.

In response to the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons in Africa, African governments, with the support of donor governments and agencies, have initiated inter-state arms control processes. Since 2000, African governments have successfully negotiated continental and regional arms control agreements and established inter-governmental implementation agencies. A number of countries have initiated bilateral arms collection and destruction operations, and certain governments have updated or are in the process of reforming their arms control policy and legislation. These developments contribute to greater confidence building and continental integration. They have the potential to enhance the safety and security of Africa's population, thereby forestalling Kaplan's prophecy of impending chaos.

This article explores both the legal and illegal dynamics of the international conventional arms trade as well as weapons transfers and proliferation in Africa--all of which are intertwined. Specific reference is made to current conflict hotspots in Africa, where the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons is most severe. This article also critically considers the mechanisms and instruments that have been established to control these arms transfers. In addition, it examines the link between arms transfers and peace and continental integration in Africa.

OVERVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL ARMS TRADE IN RELATION TO AFRICA (5)

The arms trade in relation to Africa, as in other regions, can be divided into legal and illegal components. No international instrument currently regulates the international arms trade. Therefore, the legality of arms transfers is determined by relevant national legislation of the export, transit and recipient states, as well as international arms embargoes. The legal trade typically entails government-to-government transfers where the required import and export documentation is provided and neither the importer nor the exporter is subject to an arms embargo. The illicit trade generally involves arms transactions where one or more of the parties has an arms embargo imposed against it or operates in violation of arms control legislation. These parties can include non-state actors such as rebel groups, militias and criminal gangs. The illegal arms trade is also characterized by members of the security forces and licensed civilian firearm holders selling their personal arms and ammunition in violation of national law. The unauthorized informal production of firearms by gunsmiths is a significant source of illicit firearms in some areas in Africa, particularly in West Africa.

Both aspects of the arms trade can include transport agents, middlemen or brokers, transporting the arms by land, water or air. Those who facilitate illegal transactions often attempt to disguise them as legitimate trade by means of forged documentation or to conceal arms in consignments of innocuous goods. On some occasions, arms are disassembled, and the different components are transported separately to the final destination. (6)

The arms trade, both legal and illegal, lacks transparency, which makes it impossible to analyze the exact nature and dynamics of this global enterprise. Some countries produce arms export and import reports and provide information that is publicly accessible via the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms database. (7) However, very few African countries publish such information. Due to the clandestine nature of the illegal arms trade, very limited reliable information is available.

Only a small number of African countries have the capability to manufacture arms and ammunition; South Africa and Egypt have the largest arms industries in Africa. However, in global terms, African arms industries are economically insignificant; African defense companies do not feature in the top one-hundred arms companies in terms of sales. Table 1 provides a regional breakdown and indicates that companies in North America and Western Europe produce the vast majority of arms in the global market. The Chinese arms industry is also a key player in the international arms trade, yet, there is no reliable data publicly available in this regard. Therefore, Chinese companies are not included in Table 1.

ROLE OF ARMS BROKERS IN AFRICA

Arms brokering is the arrangement and facilitation of transfers of weapons, ammunition, parts and components by persons or companies who are not direct parties to the transactions, and the broker, therefore, may not come into direct contact with or possession of the actual items. While brokers may have a legitimate role to play in the legal arms trade, illicit brokering often plays a part in the diversion of small arms and light weapons into illicit markets, violations of arms embargoes or in facilitating access to arms by transnational organized crime syndicates. (8)

International attention focused on arms brokering activities in Africa in the mid-1990s, when arms brokers were supplying arms to genocide forces in Rwanda, rebel groups in Angola and Sierra Leone and the repressive regime of Charles Taylor in Liberia--all of which were subject to United Nations (UN) Security Council arms embargoes at the time. In recent years, arms brokers have been implicated in the violation of Security Council arms embargoes against Somalia and Cote d'Ivoire, as well as rebel groups and militias in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Darfur region of Sudan. (9)

The numerous international and regional multilateral agreements that have been established are aimed at eradicating the uncontrolled proliferation of arms and include recommendations and commitments to regulate and control arms brokering activities. However, effective control over arms brokers can only be achieved through creating and implementing national legislation. (10) In Africa, very few states have promulgated legislation to regulate arms brokering activities.

CONFLICT HOTSPOT FOCUS (11)

This section provides an overview of the three most intense armed conflicts in Africa, namely those in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia and the Darfur region in Sudan. This section will specifically focus on their sources of arms, ammunition and military equipment, and the manner in which...