Robert Subukwe, leader of the Pan African Congress (PAC), had made the following statement just five days before the mass killings in Sharpeville. "I have appealed to the African people to make sure that the campaign we are to embark on must be conducted in good spirit and non violence,” he said, “and I am certain they will heed my call. If the [government] so desires, we will provide them with ample opportunity to demonstrate to the world how brutal they can be.”

Subukwe had no idea how true his words would be. Heeding the PAC’s call, about 5,000 people marched peacefully, without their passes, gathering at the Sharpeville police station on the morning of that fateful day in 1960. In the ensuing scuffle, police opened fire on the protesters. The resulting carnage shocked South Africans and the international community and the incident became known as the Sharpeville massacre.

After the fall of Apartheid, South Africans drew up a new Constitution under President Nelson Mandela, the cornerstone of which is the Bill of Rights, guaranteeing freedom and equal rights to all. The South African Human Rights Commission was launched on March 21 in 1996, 35 years after the fateful events in Sharpeville. The aim of the Commission is to promote respect for human rights, promote the protection, development and attainment of human rights, and to monitor and assess the observance of human rights in the country. March 21 is now a public holiday in South Africa called Human Rights Day.

The date is also recognised by the international community as the UN International Day Against Racial Discrimination. Kofi Annan addressed the injustice of the Sharpeville massacre and pointed to continuing problems with racial intolerance stating that, “More than 40 years later, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance are still extremely serious problems. Indeed, discrimination is deeply embedded in the economic, social and political structures of many societies, and has been among the root causes of a number of violent conflicts.”

As South Africans prepare to celebrate 10 years of democracy, these issues are still relevant, and extremely high levels of gun violence have become one of the country’s most serious problems. But organizations in the IANSA network are working hard to address these problems.

While the number of people murdered in South Africa has declined in the last ten years, the number of people killed by guns is increasing annually, and guns are used in about half of all murders, according to the latest statistics. About 11,000 people are killed by guns each year in South Africa, or about 30 gun deaths every single day. Others kinds of gun crime is also on the increase, particularly robbery with a firearm. There are an astonishing five million licensed firearms in South Africa. The police say up to one million illegal weapons are also in circulation, and many of them have been stolen from police and army barracks or the homes of individual gun owners. Death by gunshot is on the increase and will soon overtake the number of people killed in traffic accidents every year.

For more information, see the Gun Control Alliance’s Latest Statistics May 2002

According to research undertaken at 10 mortuaries throughout South Africa, young males are most at risk for firearm injury. In particular, the 18-29 year age group has the highest proportion of deaths for homicide and suicide. This is followed by the 30-39 year old age group. Together these two groups account for 75% of homicides and 57% of suicides that involve the use of a firearm. Researchers agree that these groups should be targeted for gun control measures.

For more information, see GFSA’s brief Saving South Africa's Youth: Raising the Age Limit for Gun Ownership

Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) is a national NGO whose campaigning and grassroots organizing have shown positive results since its birth in 1994. With the Alliance for Gun Control, GFSA successfully campaigned for tough new national gun laws.

The Firearms Control Bill (2000) is gradually being phased in over five years, and will limit the number of firearms people can have for self-defense to one. It will also compel gun owners to get competency certificates and declares places such as schools and places of worship firearm-free zones. Under the Bill, anyone entering a school with a gun would be jailed for up to 25 years.

Even as the law is being regulated, GFSA is working with police to set up gun free zones at dozens of schools in a number in townships around South Africa’s major cities. The organization has also campaigned for gun-free shabeens, or local drinking establishments in these areas.

On March 11, GFSA released research entitled “The Recovery and Destruction of Firearms in South Africa.” The research assesses the effectiveness of police efforts to recover firearms that are used illegally or criminally and explores whether such firearms are in fact destroyed, as required by government policy.

On March 19, GFSA made a press statement applauding police destruction of 12,496 firearms, but alerting police to the need to sustain efforts to remove guns from circulation in order to curb their illicit trade and misuse.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) is a renowned research institute covering the southern Africa region and based in Pretoria.

In the build up to the April general election, several political parties have been campaigning around the issue of crime and policing. Between September and October 2003 the Institute for Security Studies completed the second national victim survey ever to be conducted in South Africa. The results compliment the official crime statistics of the police and provide an alternative national picture of crime rates. These rates can be directly compared to those recorded in the national victim survey carried out by the UN, Statistics SA and the Department of Safety and Security in 1998. As such, the ISS study enables the first independent perspective on whether crime has in fact stabilized over the past five years.
Crime and Safety in South Africa: Release of the 2003 National Victim Survey Results, 3 March 2004

The latter part of the 20th century has witnessed an unprecedented upsurge in private security. One of the ways in which private security manifests itself is through gated communities and enclosed neighbourhoods. This has sparked off a heated debate between the proponents of gated communities and its antagonists. This seminar will provide empirical information regarding the extent of the proliferation of gated communities throughout South Africa. Problems resulting from gated communities will also be discussed as will the effectiveness and/or limitations of gated communities in dealing with crime.
Seminar: Gated Communities in Pretoria, 24 March 2004.

The Institute for Security Studies hosted the workshop “Understanding and Regulating Arms Brokering in Southern Africa” from 15-17 March 2004 at the Rosebank Hotel, Johannesburg. The objectives of the meeting were to raise awareness on the issues surrounding the brokering of arms in Southern Africa; to learn about the concerns of countries within the region on the issue and current and anticipated responses to arms brokering; and to undertake an assessment of what type actions in Southern Africa could further international, regional and national efforts to regulate arms brokering. This summary provides an overview of the discussions undertaken during the meeting, the issues raised and suggestions made during the workshop on ways to move forward.

Chairperson's Summary: ISS Workshop on Understanding and Regulating Arms Brokering in Southern Africa, 15-17 March 2004

A Southern Africa researchers network was recently formed with support from IANSA.

In addition, IANSA members have worked hard to reduce gun deaths through these channels:

The SADC Protocol on Firearms, Ammunition and Related Materials aims to create regional controls over trafficking and possession. The Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation was formed to tackle cross-border criminal activity. The 12 member countries are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. SARPCCO’s priorities are to reduce the trafficking of firearms and their use in crime in the region.

South Africa was one of the driving forces behind the 2001 UN Small Arms Conference. It established a national contact point and carried out a comprehensive audit of all state owned firearms to facilitate the tracing of weapons.

South Africa is an observer of the Human Security Network, a group of governments committed to working together to improve safety, including pushing the small arms issue forward in multi-lateral forums such as the UN.