Bilal calls for action on small arms
Vice President Mohammed Gharib Bilal.PHOTO|FILE
What you need to know:
It is estimated that 875 million small arms and light weapons are in circulation worldwide, with 665 million of these (75 per cent) being illegally owned by civilians.
Dar es Salaam. The proliferation of small and light weapons poses a big threat to peace and security in Tanzania and other countries in the Great Lakes Region, Vice President Mohammed Gharib Bilal said yesterday.
Opening the third extraordinary meeting of the Regional Centre on Small Arms (Recsa) Council of Ministers, Dr Bilal said there was a need for coordinated efforts to curb the menace.
He added that Tanzania currently had no documented number of guns that are owned illegally, but the high incidence of armed robbery is a sign that there is a great number of such weapons in circulation in the country.
Dr Bilal said illicit small arms and light weapons continue to fuel civil conflicts going on in the Central African Republic and South Sudan as well as terrorism. He said:
“In collaboration with our partners, we’re encouraged to implement various instruments including the Nairobi protocol for the prevention, control and reduction of small arms and light weapons.”
The VP assured the delegates that the government would continue to cooperate with Recsa.
He added that the fact that manufacturing companies continue to produce between 7 and 8 million firearms annually is a sign that civilian ownership is growing, with a significant number of the guns being owned illegally.
It is estimated that 875 million small arms and light weapons are in circulation worldwide, with 665 million of these (75 per cent) being illegally owned by civilians.
Over 1,000 people are killed daily with small arms and between 300,000 and 500,000 die annually through the misuse of the weapons.
Home Affairs deputy minister Pereira Ame Silima said conflicts in various African countries and the terrorism threats Kenya is facing were a result of the proliferation of small and light weapons in Africa.
He said coordinated efforts among regional states were needed to check the situation.
“We need to have an intelligence unit within our region so that we can have more information on how and where the weapons are and who is carrying them,” he said.
