In recognition of the problems caused by these weapons, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania signed the Nairobi Declaration in March 2000. This meeting, facilitated by a Canadian government grant, and with technical assistance provided by Project Ploughshares and the Africa Peace Forum, among others, proved to be a milestone event, in recognizing and clarifying the means to begin to address the small arms problem in an African context.

The Nairobi Declaration links security and development and outlines steps governments need to take at the national and regional levels to deal with the problem of small arms proliferation and misuse and is an important regional instrument in the struggle to deal with the effects of these weapons at the sub-regional level.

In the implementation plan of the Nairobi Declaration, the Coordinated Agenda for Action, civil society is recognized as an effective agent for supporting governments work in this regard. Governments are encouraged to utilize civil society expertise particularly in the areas of research, data collection, and awareness-raising and public engagement at the grass roots level. There is a clear mandate given to governments and civil society to cooperate.

Based on this, Africa Peace Forum (APFO), Kenya and Project Ploughshares, Canada, developed a project that would encourage civil society input in the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration. The project received financial support from Foreign Affairs Canada.

The objectives of the project included:
• To build the indigenous research capacity on small arms;
• To increase public awareness of small arms issues, especially
   the human security dimensions and humanitarian impact;
• To contribute expert knowledge of, and public support for, policy options for
   addressing the human security dimensions of small arms;
• To initiate and support an engagement process that ensures
   civil society input in the implementation process of the Nairobi Declaration.

The first phase of the project was May 2002 - June 2003 and the second phase was carried out from August 2003 - February 2005. The first phase of the project was completed in June 2003 and supported the structural and operational maturation of the National Focal points, government bodies set up to coordinate small arms control efforts and the Nairobi Secretariat, the office that oversees overall coordination and provides technical and operational assistance for the Nairobi Declaration. Through regular contact and meetings, the relationship between APFO and the Secretariat was strengthened and continues to be a channel for the exchange of information, expertise, and assistance in implementing the Nairobi Declaration.

The activities undertaken in the second phase of the project built upon the achievements of the first phase by continuing to support civil society input and governmental action on small arms issues in the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes sub-regions. A significant development in 2004 was the signing of the Nairobi Protocol in April 2004 by all the original States that were signatories to the Nairobi Declaration - Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo - plus, the Seychelles. This Protocol is a legally binding document that strengthens the Nairobi Declaration and commits signatory States to more concrete actions - including, mandatory gun registration and a ban on the civilian ownership of military assault rifles (like the AK-47) - to deal with the problems caused by small arms in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa regions.

Of particular relevance to the work that APFO and Project Ploughshares are carrying out is the Protocol's call for a Civil Society Dialogue Forum that will be created to coordinate small arms activities among NGOs, National Focal Points, and the Nairobi Secretariat. APFO was present at the Ministerial meeting and has been calling on the Nairobi Secretariat to acknowledge more formally the on-going cooperation between NGOs and government and to develop a process by which their expertise can be more effectively utilized. It is hoped that the Forum will create a more sustainable and effective channel for civil society input.

A series of national workshops were held in Kinshasa, Bukavu and Kisangani, DRC as well as Uganda, and the project team also participated at other related regional meetings which brought together civil society and government officials to dialogue on small arms related issues.

In February 2005 a Regional Workshop was held in Nairobi at which the findings of the national workshops were presented. Papers commissioned to develop the capacity of indigenous researchers and contribute expert knowledge and develop policy options that address the human security dimensions of the small arms problem were also presented and discussed. This workshop was instrumental in encouraging the development of national civil society small arms networks. These networks are seen by both civil society and government as a necessary first step in building civil society capacity for more effective input into, and monitoring of, the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration. The workshop also was a forum, which supported capacity-building because it allowed discussion about policy and advocacy priorities with government officials present.

The project has been successful in supporting civil society in their efforts to move the Nairobi Declaration from its 'declaratory' phase to actual action and implementation. Civil society has provided support for the structural and operational maturation of the Nairobi Secretariat and assisted in the creation of national civil society small arms networks.

Documents (Project Ploughshares documents)