Kigali Hosts Meeting on Marking Small & Light Weapons

{{Representatives of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) are in a two day meeting aimed at sharing experience and best practices on marking small and light weapons.}}

The meeting is being held at Lemigo Hotel in Kigali.

ECCAS is an association that brings together fifteen countries from Central Africa.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sam Karemera, the National Focal Point Coordinator on Small Arms and Light Weapon said that Rwanda National Police has already marked weapons used by the forces as well as those used by Rwanda National Collection services and private security companies.

Giorgio Romano, RoL advisor of the EU Del to AU, in Addis Ababa, who represented the European Union in this meeting, observed that the scourge of the proliferation of Small and Light Weapons (SALW) is so frightening in Africa due to the nature of conflicts in the continent.

“As it is understandable, in such historically, politically, socially and economically complex context like the African continent, not all countries enjoy the same standard in the management of SALW issue each having its own priorities, agenda and needs,” said Romano.

Presiding over the official launch of the meeting, the Minister of Internal Security Sheik Musa Fazil Harelimana said that firearms marking is one of the state’s efforts at the regional and national level aimed at preventing diversion.

The Minister added that a single nation or region cannot win the battle of fighting the proliferation of SALW without the cooperation of the entire region (African continent) due to the nature of this crime.

“This therefore calls for harmonized efforts to be able to track and fight this crime which can be achieved through experience sharing hence the intention of this seminar,” said Harelimana.

{Minister of Internal Security Sheik Musa Fazil Harelimana and participants who are attending the Economic Community of Central Africa}

RNP