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The Chinese ship is reported to be carrying 77 tonnes of small arms, including AK47s and 3 million rounds of ammunition

SADC must detain Chinese arms to Zimbabwe

IANSA is calling on the South African government to detain a ship that is carrying a consignment of Chinese small arms bound for Zimbabwe.

On April 14 2008, the South African government issued a conveyance permit allowing for the transport of weapons, which are reported to be 77 tonnes of small arms including AK-47s and 3 million rounds of ammunition, over South African territory to Zimbabwe.

State-owned guns will be marked on the barrel, frame, and if possible, the slide

RECSA initiate International Tracing Instrument

All state-owned firearms in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa region are to be marked by the end of December 2008, according to an agreement made by states at a meeting organised by RECSA (Regional Centre for Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States). The markings, which will include a country code, will be added to all weapons in state stockpiles and also to firearms at the point of manufacture, import or transfer. This information will then be entered into a national database. When the process is completed, states will be able to trace any illicit weapon that might once have been possessed by a state in the region, by making a tracing request to Interpol.  States will not have automatic access to the database, as police and military stockpiles are considered to be a matter of state security.

Members of the Afghan National Forces in 2005 (photo US Ministry of Defense)

Afghanistan: Arms fuel further abuse

Despite millions of small arms already being found within Afghanistan, 409 022 more small arms have been imported and redistributed since 2002, according to data received by Amnesty International. Yet there are less than 200 000 members of the Afghan security forces (including police, army and security services).