Africa has remained a hotbed of a high rate of illicit arms smuggling while its grand vision of ‘Silencing the Gun’ is unlikely to be achieved by this year.
The 33rd AU Ordinary Summit has come up with a report that little progress has been made since the grand vision of Silencing the Gun was introduced.
On the other hand, contradictory reports are coming out that the continent is also increasingly becoming arms smuggling channels with Libya and Sahel regions being the tipping point. The Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa have also been said to host the highest number of illicit arms trading, according to the Small Arms Survey Organization 2017 report.
The fact was further cemented in the recent Summit that was held in Addis Ababa.
Speaking to journalists, after presenting report on the peace and security of the continent at the Summit, AU Commissioner of Peace and Security Smail Chergui described the situation in Libya and Sahel region as grave and as having a domino effect in other areas. “Arms have been smuggled from Libya and the Sahel to other parts of the continent. Conflict ridden areas are leading to the proliferation and acquisition of small arms in the region.”
“We want the cessation of hostility to be fully respected and arms embargo on Libya be respected strictly so that African union will move its mission to Tripoli,” he says adding: “We also want an immediate cessation of all external interventions and interferences in Libyan affairs.”
Terrorist groups are not only showing resilience but also acquiring new equipment and techniques to attack security forces, according to his report. Corruption, porous borders, loosely enforced trade regulations, and terrorism are behind the continent’s massive illicit arms activity.
Even though the Arms Trade Treaty has been in place for nearly five years, arms trade has been on the rise. Currently, approximately 30 million firearms are being circulated through Africa, according to the survey of the organization.
“The year that has ended has not been a year full of peace and harmony across the world. The one that has dawned does not announce that we are at the end of our troubles, said Moussa Faki Mahamat, African Union Commission Chairperson in his speech at the recent Summit where he admitted much work is to be done in silencing the guns.
The Horn of Africa, the Sahel and the Great Lakes are at wars today, a real war in which dozens of soldiers and civilians die every week. “It calls upon us to constantly mobilize all energies and cement solidarity among member countries to take up against security challenges,” according to him.
The persistence of the hotbeds of terrorism in many regions of Africa and their worrying development is a stark reminder that this cancer has not been eradicated yet. The hydra remains active in threatening to cause state collapse, he adds.
“Illicit arms smuggling stokes political conflicts, causes widespread human rights violations, and aids terrorism.”
What has been exacerbating the situation is the advent of digital technology that eases communications, advertising and trading of arms.
Matt Schroeder is a senior researcher with the Small Arms Survey. In his article entitled Beyond the Dark Web: Arms Trafficking in the Digital Age signals that online arms trafficking are also becoming a serious problem with real threat to the world.
Digital marketplaces and online storefronts are significant force multipliers for tech-savvy arms traffickers, who can build global client bases and diversified supply networks with minimal capital and from nearly anywhere in the world. The internet is also serving for advertising, procuring and technology transfer of arms trading.
The Ethiopian Herald February 14/2020
BY DESTA GEBREHIWOT
