Countries emerging from a long period of armed conflict have to find solutions for getting wide-spread possession of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and related trade flows under control. The Republic of South Sudan (RSS) is a case in point.
According to estimates, 2.7 million SALW are available in the whole of the former Sudan, with around 720,000 in the hands of civilians in the RSS. The SALW problem is one of the legacies of the four decades of civil wars in South Sudan. It has been aggravated by arms flows inside South Sudan as well as diverse cross border supply channels, pointing to the regional character of SALW-related insecurity. The proliferation of arms tends to exacerbate existing tensions and to encourage the return of violent conflict.
The author describes the challenges to proper storage of SALW and ammunition in the RSS. A recent project carried out by BICC and funded by the German Foreign Office assessed the RSS’s approaches and practices of SALW and ammunition storage, suggested a road map towards improvements and developed recommendations for the government.
BICC Feature 1 “The Challenge of Managing State-owned Small Arms and Light Weapons in South Sudan” is the first issue of a new BICC publication series, which includes articles, commentaries and lectures.
Please find the full pdf-version of the background paper at
http://www.bicc.de/uploads/pdf/publications/features/2011/Feature01.pdf
Countries emerging from a long period of armed conflict have to find solutions for getting wide-spread possession of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and related trade flows under control. The Republic of South Sudan (RSS) is a case in point.
According to estimates, 2.7 million SALW are available in the whole of the former Sudan, with around 720,000 in the hands of civilians in the RSS. The SALW problem is one of the legacies of the four decades of civil wars in South Sudan. It has been aggravated by arms flows inside South Sudan as well as diverse cross border supply channels, pointing to the regional character of SALW-related insecurity. The proliferation of arms tends to exacerbate existing tensions and to encourage the return of violent conflict.
The author describes the challenges to proper storage of SALW and ammunition in the RSS. A recent project carried out by BICC and funded by the German Foreign Office assessed the RSS’s approaches and practices of SALW and ammunition storage, suggested a road map towards improvements and developed recommendations for the government.
BICC Feature 1 “The Challenge of Managing State-owned Small Arms and Light Weapons in South Sudan” is the first issue of a new BICC publication series, which includes articles, commentaries and lectures.
Please find the full pdf-version of the background paper at
http://www.bicc.de/uploads/pdf/publications/features/2011/Feature01.pdf