Illicit arms top of agenda as Nairobi summit discusses regional security

The widespread proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) is to blame for the increased conflict and insecurity in many countries in Africa, security experts have said and urged nations to set targets to combat the scourge to strengthen development and social cohesion.

In efforts for this, 26 East and Southern African countries are meeting in Nairobi to review the implementation of previously agreed protocols for preventing the flow of illicit arms and set priorities for preventing, combating and eradicating their scourge.

Ambassador Maritza Chan Valverde of Costa Rica, the president-designate of the Fourth Review Conference on the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UN PoA), is among the guests attending the two-day meeting.

UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu, regional bodies IGAD, SADC and RECSA, and international partners are also present.

The meeting will also exchange views on the state of implementation of the UN PoA and the International Tracing Instrument ahead of the UN PoA’s Fourth Review Conference, scheduled to take place in New York from June 17-28, 2024.

The global meeting that takes place every six years comes as the world experiences a rise in armed conflicts, violent extremism, and the expansion of terrorism and general insecurity courtesy of the widespread flow of SALW.

Chan noted that small arms control measures have proven themselves to be effective tools to disrupt the supply to terrorist and criminal groups.

“Adequate small arms control is a crucial means of reducing armed violence, preventing conflict and building peaceful and inclusive societies, without which sustainable development cannot happen,” she said.

Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo noted that the SALW continue to wreak havoc in communities, fuel conflicts, undermine peace and stability and hinder socio-economic development across East and Southern Africa and the continent at large.

This, he said, is why the region must come up with targets for reducing the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition.

"The illicit trade in arms knows no borders and respects no laws, making it imperative for us to strengthen our collaborative efforts at both regional and international levels," he said.

Izumi noted that increased tensions between states, unconstrained military spending and more complex and intractable conflicts are igniting and escalating across the world.

"In this geopolitical landscape, fraught with multilayered risks, illicit proliferation, diversion and misuse of small and light weapons is a major contributing factor that perpetuates much of the human suffering we see in the world," she said.

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