Chapter 2: The Flame of Hope

When addressing a complex, difficult problem, one single approach or one single measure seldom brings a solution. Usually, different approaches and combinations of measures must be invoked to achieve the desired results.

The West African Moratorium on Export, Import and Manufacture of Light Weapons was designed with this in mind. It represents a concrete and comprehensive strategy to come to grips with the problems posed by uncontrolled flows of light weapons. A regional agreement to limit the flow of arms has been negotiated, in return for which the main supplier states have been asked to respect its provisions and to assist in its implementation.¹ This way, suppliers and recipients are brought together in a joint effort to alleviate the problems.

The initiative originated at the recipient end where the problems are felt. In November 1996, Mali’s President Alpha Oumar Konaré first presented the idea at a UN conference in Bamako.² Such a Moratorium on light weapons had not been tried before. Neither had the recipients of arms been in the habit of seizing non-proliferation initiatives: in the past, measures to control and constrain the transfer of weapons have been taken by supplier States - and they have all been more or less vague and ineffective. The West African initiative was a novel one in both respects.

To draw the suppliers into the deal, the West African States have asked for a dialogue with the Wassenaar Arrangement, which is comprised of 33 arms producing and exporting States. They have received a positive response. This is another novel feature of the Moratorium.

Objectives

Three objectives are of particular importance. Conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction are two of them. The operative requirements are much the same in these two kinds of situations: in post-conflict reconstruction, a major task is to avoid that the process slides back into armed conflict. Another objective is to come to grips with crime and banditry. If there are a lot of arms around, easy access to weapons may invite violent solutions to problems and, per implication, acquisition of arms for self-defence since there may be no effective police to rely upon. Furthermore, when internal wars come to an end, there is often an outbreak of crime and banditry in the aftermath.

The third objective is to pave the way for socio-economic development in general, and for donor supported development projects in particular. The latter are particularly sensitive to incidents of violence. A fundamental condition for development in any country is that an adequate level of security is maintained by the State.

This is the idea underlying the "security first" approach, shorthand for an integrated and proportional approach to security and development.³ Without security, conditions will not exist for development projects to be conducted. Part of the development aid may, therefore, best be invested in a more effective law and order mechanism, i.e. in security sector reform under appropriate international monitoring. It is only when functional substitutes are offered for the role that weapons now play that incentive schemes to collect arms can work well. It is only when arms have been brought under control and the security environment has become stable that development programmes can be conducted. And it is only when there is a "sense of security" for the long term that foreign investments may become substantial. Hence the relevance of the "security first" approach, which underpins and inspires the Moratorium.

The Moratorium originated from a succession of events and initiatives starting in 1993, leading up to its declaration at the ECOWAS⁴ meeting of Heads of State in Abuja, Nigeria, October 30–31 1998.

Acting upon an initial request from the President of Mali, the Secretary-General of the United Nations established an advisory mission on the control and collection of small arms in the Sahara-Sahel region. The mission visited Mali (1994) as well as Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal (1995).

A major lesson from these missions was that curbing the dissemination of small arms within each country and throughout the region was an essential factor in establishing the minimal security prerequisites for future development projects to be undertaken effectively.

Hence, an integrated and proportional approach to security and development ("security first") was elaborated and, in principle, endorsed at a high-level consultation of the UN/UNDP and donor countries held in New York on October 21, 1996. A number of States are now following up on it in practice.

In this spirit, a UNIDIR/UNDP Conference on Conflict Prevention, Disarmament and Development in West Africa was convened in Bamako on November 25-29 1996. Delegations from 12 West African countries sought common ground on options for future regional co-operation. The Moratorium proposal drew particular interest throughout the conference. Delegates undertook to convey the suggestion to their respective governments for further consideration.

As participants in the Bamako Conference, both ECOWAS and ANAD took an active part in the discussions on the Moratorium idea. Subsequently, the secretariat of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was briefed on the proposal.

In February 1997, Friends of the Chair of the Wassenaar Arrangement were likewise informed of the Moratorium proposal and of the West African wish to conduct a dialogue on the matter.

Another consultation of West African countries held in Bamako in March 1997, attended i.a. by a representative of the Chairman in Office of the Wassenaar Arrangement in an observer capacity agreed that the Moratorium might be of a three-year duration.

In a public statement of December 10 1997, the Wassenaar Arrangement "welcomed and encouraged the initiative of the West African countries in establishing a Moratorium on Import, Export and Manufacture of Light Weapons".

In its communiqué of March 12 1998, the ECOWAS meeting of Foreign Ministers held in Abidjan instructed the ECOWAS secretariat to prepare a draft text for the declaration of the Moratorium proposal with a view to its adoption and announcement at the upcoming summit of ECOWAS.

At the twenty-first ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS held in Abuja, Nigeria on October 30-31 1998, all 16 Heads of State of ECOWAS "solemnly declare(d) a Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Light Weapons in ECOWAS Member States which shall take effect from the first day of November 1998, for a renewable period of three (3) years".

In a public statement of December 3 1998, the Participating States of the Wassenaar Arrangement confirmed that they "will undertake an appropriate collaborative role with ECOWAS Member States to respect the provisions of the Moratorium and will be open to providing advisory and/or technical assistance in the implementation of the Moratorium".

At the ECOWAS Foreign Ministers meeting in Bamako, Mali, March 24-251999, a plan of action was agreed for measures to be undertaken within the framework of the Moratorium, to create a secure environment for development.

Priorities

The Moratorium is a framework within which a number of measures must be taken in order to achieve the objectives mentioned above. Sometimes referred to as associated measures, these are vitally important for the success of the entire undertaking. Technical and financial assistance is needed to enhance confidence in the framework as well as to implement a series of associated measures in the course of the three-year "period of grace", i.e. while the Moratorium is in force.⁵The associated measures constitute the more demanding part of the package.

From a list of nine priority items,⁶ the Foreign Ministers encouraged immediate financial support for the Programme for Co-ordination and Assistance for Security and Development (PCASED) in the following four areas:

The Foreign Ministers decided to notify the UN Security Council and the Wassenaar Arrangement of the entry into force of the Moratorium, and of the list of the categories of light weapons covered by it. Notice has already been made of the Moratorium in the Security Council Resolution 1209 of November 19 1998, which commends the ECOWAS Members for their sub-regional initiative in combating illicit arms flows.

The Foreign Ministers furthermore supported the convening of the high-level consultation that has been initiated by the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) to promote international support for PCASED. This Programme has been established under UNDP auspices to facilitate the implementation of the Moratorium and its associated measures. PCASED was officially launched in Bamako on March 251999 on the occasion of the Foreign Ministers meeting.

The Moratorium has the support of ECOWAS, the OAU, the Wassenaar Arrangement and the United Nations, as well as single donor countries. It has a momentum, which should now be fully exploited. In 1998 NISAT co-sponsored and supported three NGO-meetings in West Africa to mobilise civil society in support of the Moratorium, and convened a multilateral consultation of representatives of 13 ECOWAS governments and 23 Wassenaar States in Oslo. The high level consultation that was held in Geneva on May 5 1999 is another effort to exploit the momentum that has been achieved and to assist the West Africans in the implementation of their commendable initiative.

¹ In a manner analogous to the structure of nuclear weapon-free zone arrangements. The members of a nuclear weapon-free zone undertake not to acquire nuclear arms or host the nuclear weapons of others, while the established nuclear weapon powers commit themselves to respect the status of the zone and not to assist any of the zonal states in acquiring a nuclear weapon capability.
The supplier states should be asked to incorporate the Moratorium’s provisions into their national arms export laws and regulations.
² The conference was sponsored by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
³ The term "integrated" refers to the need to consider security and development issues in a joint fashion. The term "proportional" has no general definition. However, the meaning of it is that part of the development aid might best be used to create a secure environment for development. This might be a modest part of the total aid flow, yet enough to get development projects going.
⁴ Which does not necessarily mean that first one has to invest in security sector reform and only thereafter in development projects. While that sequence seems appropriate in many parts of West Africa, in other countries, security and development efforts might best be pursued in parallel. Like so many shorthand expressions, "security first" may be misleading in this respect.
⁵ Economic Community of West Africa States
⁶ Towards the end of the period, an assessment will be made and a decision taken on the eventual extension of the Moratorium period.
⁷ These are 1) developing a culture of peace; 2) training for the military, security and police forces; 3) enhancing weapons control at border posts; 4) establishment of a database and a regional arms register; 5) collection and destruction of surplus and unauthorised weapons; 6) facilitating dialogue with producers and suppliers; 7) review and harmonisation of national legislation and administrative procedures; 8) mobilising resources for PCASED objectives and activities; and 9) enlarging membership of the Moratorium.

Chapter 2

Background

Approach

Objectives

Priorities