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NISAT Report

 

Community Support to Help Police
Stop Firearms Proliferation
in Malawi

 

On 13 July 1999, over 50 individuals and representatives attended a Workshop in Lilongwe to begin a discussion of the above issue as follows:

On 14 July 1999, over 80 persons attended a larger Roundtable Meeting on the same subject where additional representatives, as below, joined those from the Workshop:

The Hon. MP Patrick Mbewe, Minister for Home Affairs and Internal Security, opened the Roundtable Meeting expressing support for the initiative. The Workshop and Roundtable Meeting were both organised by the Public Affairs Committee (PAC), the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT). The Norwegian Government announced support to NISAT to pursue a pilot project of activities arising from the Roundtable Meeting.

Expert presentations on different topics were made to the Workshop and the Roundtable. These included presentations from Senior Assistant Commissoners Lot Dzonzi and Elvis Thodi of the Malawi Police Service, Undule Mwakasungura of the CHRR and Robert Phiri of the PAC. Presentations by international guests included those of Nataniel Macamo Assistant Commissioner in the Mozambique Republic Police; Paul Eavis of Saferworld, an NGO based in the UK; Martinho Chachiua and Ettienne Hennop of the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) based in Pretoria; Ted Leggett of the University of Natal, also linked to the ISS; Mary Straker of the UK Department of International Development (DfID); Colin Roberts of the Surrey Police in the UK; and Brian Wood and Ole Petter Sunde of NISAT. Discussions followed each of the presentations. These were enlivened by local participants and participants from Amnesty International headquarters in the UK, the International Resources Group of Kenya and Gun Free South Africa.

The draft text of a framework for action was drawn up and discussed in the final session of the Roundtable Meeting. Comments and amendments from discussion groups were put forward and agreed by acclamation in the final plenary session. The following was the outcome.

 

 A Framework for Action

 1. Nature of the Problem

    1. Malawi faces a serious threat from (i) possible sudden influxes of small arms from armed conflicts in the region, even if peace agreements are reached and implemented, and (ii) existing violent crime in Malawi associated with the illegal possession of firearms.
    2. Malawi is suffering a low and persistent level of gun violence involving mostly AK 47 assault rifles and pistols made in South Africa. In addition, it has been reported that firearms issued to Malawi security services have sometimes been used in attacks. Crimes carried out include armed robbery of individuals, business premises and homes in rural and urban areas, as well as vehicle theft by individuals and gangs. These sometimes result in murders and serious injuries.
    3. Illegally held firearms have been found hidden in major urban townships and in villages and appear to be fuelled by cross border movements with Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania. There is a danger that gangs are entrenching themselves in the region and are helping to generate local cultures of violence, drawing on disaffected former security personnel and marginalized youth.
    4. The Malawi Police Service is significantly under-strength compared to other police forces in the region, and lacks the resources, training and specialist capacity such as firearms-ballistics and forensic units to effectively combat the perpetrators. In addition, a legacy of distrust still exists between police and some communities emanating from the past. Amongst other things, the Police Service needs better information from local communities to combat such crime, as well as the means of transport, communications and analytical capacity to collect, process and use such information effectively. Delays in the prosecution of those charged with offences relating to gun violence also undermine the efforts of the police.
    5. The Malawi Government is unable to provide adequate material support for the development of the police. The UK Government’s Department of International Development has begun a program of assistance to help expand the capacity of the Malawi Police Service. However, this program of support is unlikely to provide for all of the transport, communications, training and other needs of the Malawi police to effectively oversee, and help sustain, the potentially dynamic community policing program involving CPFs and CPPs in all districts of the country.
    6. NGOs and other actors in civil society linked to such communities in Malawi are relatively new. They have begun programs to monitor the observance of human rights, to support community projects and to raise civic awareness. However, they lack capacity and resources to do more work to assist in promoting and helping the community-policing program amongst the general public and specific communities.

2. Principles and General Recommendations for tackling the problem

    1. Community involvement in crime prevention and support for policing is one vital aspect of the rule of law and is necessary prerequisite for promoting socio-economic development and maintaining a democratic society. The recent emergence of CPPs and CPFs working with the police in many districts of Malawi is therefore a huge potential asset that needs support from all sectors of society. However, the Malawi Police Service needs the resources and capacity to supervise and help activate the CPPs and CPFs if they are to be sustained and effective in deterring crime.
    2. Building lasting trust and effective co-operation between the public and police depends on mutual respect. Experience from many countries has shown that this requires the observance of international human rights standards. The Malawi Police Service has adopted a new mission statement and a framework for police training and accountability based upon such standards. More resources are needed to put this fully into practice.
    3. Within the above framework, specific measures are needed in Malawi to enable the police to investigate and apprehend those involved in illegal firearm possession, trafficking and use. The police Firearms and Ballistics Unit needs urgent strengthening, as does the Anti-Robbery Murder Squad. In addition to resources, the units need a better system of criminal intelligence and training in international standards regarding the appropriate use of force. Procedures to allow joint army and police cross-border operations in pursuit of armed criminals need to be finalised between the Malawi and neighbouring governments. Customs officers need the means to check cargo by air, road, river and Lake.
    4. Mechanisms are also needed to ensure that police actions are transparent and accountable to parliament, local communities and the general public. These may include lay visitor schemes for each police station, a legal and regulatory framework for CPFs and CPPs, an independent police complaints authority open to the public and the regular comprehensive publication of statistics and other information on policing and crime. Such mechanisms are yet to be fully realised in Malawi and require resources to develop and maintain.
    5. Regional and international co-operation to combat illicit arms trafficking is essential in order to succeed, especially for countries like Malawi with few economic and financial resources. Donor assistance should integrate crime prevention and small arms control into wider development projects. Specific bilateral cross-border security measures with neighbouring countries are required.
    6. Malawi can also play an active role in inter-governmental organisations that are trying to promote measures to combat illicit arms trafficking and better control of international arms transfers. These organisations include SADC, SARPCCO, the OAU and the United Nations. In addition, NGOs and other associations in Malawi can also link up with their international counterparts to help civil society play a supportive role.

 

3. Activities by NGOs and other civil society actors to help tackle the problem

International experience shows that support for community-policing initiatives by genuinely independent and impartial NGOs can be of enormous benefit. In particular, NGOs can help to expand and sustain the participation and commitment of a wide range of civil society actors for such initiatives, for example through civil education and outreach networking.

NGOs and their partners in civil society should:

    1. Commission and build capacity for local research into gun-related crime and illicit trafficking of firearms, co-operating with the police authorities. Consider studies of the effectiveness of weapons collection programs and the role of private security firms.
    2. Help develop constructive public discourse on the threat of firearms in Malawi and the region, and organise a civic education program to help the public understand the importance of effective policing and their role in crime prevention if human rights are to be protected.
    3. Train, with the help of the police, a core network of trainers who could help ensure that members of NGOs at the local community level give active support to CPFs and CPPs on community crime prevention initiatives.
    4. Print and distribute a range of materials for training and for wider public promotion of the above, in liaison with the police, the CPFs, and the relevant authorities.
    5. Commission research on the legislation, regulations, sentencing and rehabilitation of offenders involved in possession or use of illegal firearms in Malawi, looking at regional and international standards.
    6. Launch well-prepared national media programs to help generate a better understanding of the problem taking care to promote civic responsibility and not spread unnecessary fear.
    7. Assist CPFs in conjunction with the police to promote awareness of the agreed national guidelines for CPPs and CPFs and relevant international human rights standards on policing, including the minimal use of force.
    8. Organise specific outreach programs in order to build support amongst key sectors of society, especially amongst youth, women, business managers, religious bodies, traditional authorities, schools, employees, politicians and others.
    9. Encourage voluntary financial contributions from the public and especially the business sector for the work of CPFs and CPPs and for crime prevention work with youth.
    10. Lobby parliamentarians on the need to support specific measures and resources to control firearms and to promote crime prevention.
    11. Liaise with NGO and civil society counterparts in other countries in the region, particularly neighbouring countries, to exchange information and proposals for joint action on the problem.
    12. Establish a national co-ordinating committee to help organise the above with representatives of key NGOs, CPFs and other key sectors of civil society, working closely with police and government authorities.
    13. Develop concrete, practicable pilot schemes to take these activities forward.

The organisers of the Workshop and Roundtable Meeting, namely the PAC, CHRR and NISAT, offered to facilitate the establishment of such a program of work in Malawi for the next year starting as soon as possible.

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This report was finalised by Brian Wood, senior researcher of NISAT, in consultation with the organisers of the Workshop and the Roundtable, and after receiving comments on an earlier draft from participants of the Roundtable Meeting.