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Proliferation of small arms poses threat to Kenya: official

PLA Daily 2004-02-18

NAIROBI, Feb. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Kenya have become much more destructive to the East African country, a senior government official disclosed here Tuesday.

Permanent Secretary of Kenyan Foreign Ministry Peter Ole Nkuraiyia told an experts meeting on small arms in Nairobi that Kenya is trying to resolve the conflicts in the sub-region, which would create conducive environment for peace and development in the region.

The official made the remarks during the opening of the two-day meeting attended by experts of the Nairobi Declaration on Small Arms and Light Weapons.

The countries represented include Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, the Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Nkuraiyia said that small arms are so easily accessible in Kenya that they have greatly contributed to the deterioration of security in the country due to porous borders with neighboring Somalia.

He pledged that Kenya will further play its due role in negotiating peace in the region, but he stressed that peace and stability can only be achieved by the people of a given country.

He pointed out that the Kenyan government is currently carrying out a mop-up operation to seize all illegal firearms in the country which led to their destruction by burning last year.

Most of these small arms are mainly coming from Somalia, the Sudan, Ethiopia and other neighboring strife-torn countries, he said, adding that the regional countries will remain committed to assisting Kenya in addressing the problem of illicit proliferation of small weapons.

The country lies between the Sudan and Somalia, both of which have considerable difficulty in maintaining law and order within their borders.

However, the official admits that they have no idea how many illegal firearms are circulating in the country.

During the meeting, the experts are expected to consider a draft ministerial declaration for the second ministerial review conference scheduled for next month.