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    There is an urgent need to tackle the proliferation of light weapons in southern Africa, as these have become a threat to prospects of long-term peace, security and development in the region. According to a report by Sarah Meek, Buy or Barter, The History and Prospects of Voluntary Weapons Collection, communities in southern Africa have abandoned their traditional, negotiated mechanisms of conflict resolution and management. Meek says that the communities are shifting towards "resolving violent situation with solutions equally violent".

    " Although in its infancy, a culture of violence has begun to emerge in the region, threatening democracy and development," says Meek in her report. This has resulted from the proliferation of illicit arms in southern Africa. Illegal small arms are the most commonly used in the perpetration of crime, contributing to the high levels of instability, extended conflict and violence in the region; The United Nations Panel of Government Experts on Small Arms defines "small arms" as including revolvers, and self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, sub-machine guns, assault rifles and light-machine guns.

    Since most countries in the region have gone through armed conflicts, some firearms from that era are now finding their way into wrong hands resulting in an increase in gun-related crime.

    The head of the International Policing Organisation's (Interpol) sub-regional office in southern Africa, Frank Msutu, said that his organisation is working hard to tackle the problem of the illicit arms from the highest office of national governments in the region. He said Interpol has sought the help of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as the Southern African Regional Police Commissioners Co-ordinating Organisation (SARPCCO) resulting in the latter's July 1999 summit declaration on small arms.

    According to the SARPCCO Declaration on Small Arms, the ministers responsible for policing in the region agreed to pursue, within the context of southern Africa, those steps which may be taken to combat small arms trafficking.

    Among the issues under consideration are prohibitions on civilian possession of automatic and military weapons; co-ordination of procedures for the import, export and transit of small arms shipments and ensuring the registration of all small arms in a country .The ministers also agreed to ensure that proper controls are exercised over the manufacture of small arms to prevent their entrance into the illicit market.

    Last August's SADC Council of Ministers meeting in Maputo noted that the conflicts that have taken place in the region over many years have led to a proliferation of arms. This, they agreed, also contributed to an increase in criminal activities such as armed robberies and illicit trafficking in small arms. They resolved that member states needed to combine efforts to combat the use and trafficking in regIOn are no1: preparea 1:0 snare rnlellIgence mlOnnauon.

    "The issue of firearms is very sensitive and countries are not prepared to share intelligence information on firearms. We have, however, managed to encourage the countries to share information since this will help the region to curb gun-related crime," said Msutu.

    According to Janee Rambocus, in a paper prepared for the NGO, Safeworld and the Institute for Security Studies seminar, the recognition within the southern African region of the nature and extent of the problem of light weapons proliferation together with a demonstrable willingness to take action has encouraged the European Union to explore cooperation with SADC governments.

    The development of a Southern African regional action programme on light arms and illicit trafficking was given high level approval by the EU and Southern African Foreign Ministers at their meeting in November two years ago.

    "Despite this level of commitment, there have been, in fact, few projects undertaken which have directly targeted the issue of light weapons proliferation, such as support for weapons collection initiatives or technical assistance around marking and registering of light weapons," says Rambocus in a paper entitled Assistance Programmes for Tackling Light Weapons Proliferation in Southern Africa. However, there are several programmes supported by the EU member states with an indirect impact on the availability of light weapons such as assistance for community policing and judicial or military reform.

    The programmes include the collection of small arms for destruction in exchange for items of practical daily use, in Mozambique under the Germany organisation, Dienste in Ubersee. There is therefore significant scope for further developing EU assistance, in partnership with southern African countries, at the regional and national level in order to meet the needs and priorities of the SADC member states.