South Sudan: Challenge of Disarming a Nation When No One Trusts the State

Pipeline linking northern and southern Sudan. In the aftermath of the partition of Africa's largest geographic nation-state, problems have developed over the country's most valuable export., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

South Sudan: challenge of disarming a nation when no one trusts the state

Unrest and suspicion of police means few are willing to give up their share of the 3m small arms and light weapons in circulation

Simon Tisdall in Juba
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 4 July 2013 11.39 EDT

Ending insecurity and extending the new government's writ across South Sudan, a country roughly the size of France, is one of the main challenges facing its struggling leadership. But the prevalence of large numbers of mostly unregulated small arms and light weapons – an estimated 3m are in circulation – makes this daunting task all the more difficult, arms control experts and officials say.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that South Sudan is an armed camp," said Geoffrey Duke, of the South Sudan Action Network on Small Arms. "There is no strong cultural tradition linking guns and rights, like in the US. Mostly it is the product of a perceived need for self-protection because the state is weak. People want guns because the government can't fill that gap."

Landlocked South Sudan is hemmed in by states in conflict or by border and territorial disputes, including long-running rebellions in the embattled Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, the Central African Republic, and in Sudan itself, where insurgencies and disputes rage in Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Abyei.

Seven of South Sudan's 10 states are experiencing some form of violent unrest, sometimes involving militias or proxy forces backed by Khartoum. Eastern Jonglei state is the scene of a particularly destructive insurrection led by David Yau Yau and his Murle people's militia against the SPLM government. UN agencies say 20,000 people have been displaced this year.

Against this unpromising backdrop, Duke's Action Network on Small Arms, backed by Oxfam, is working to change attitudes, reduce gun violence and misuse, and prevent proliferation. Part of this work involves documenting supplies to armed groups emanating from Khartoum and monitoring government arms control.

The arms in question comprise mainly AK47s (described by Oxfam as the "world's favourite killing machine"), machine-guns, hand guns, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and hand grenades, Duke said. The principal external suppliers include China, Iran, Sudan and Eritrea (which is also involved in Somalia).

The problem extends beyond South Sudan. According to figures produced by Oxfam in support of the new global arms trade treaty adopted by the UN in April, Africa lost more than $18bn (£12bn) each year from 1990 to 2005 as a result of armed conflict. Between 50m to 70m AK47s are in circulation in Africa.

Even the best intentioned disarmament plans go wrong, according to Duke. "In Akobo county in Jonglei in 2006 the government worked through the chiefs and consulted the communities and told them there is a new dispensation now, so there is no need to have guns. The army and police will protect you.

"They accepted, but the number of police was very small. They [the local people] were not allowed to join the police, so the community was not protected. When the neighbours realised they had no guns, they attacked and raided them."

Other problems in persuading communities to give up their weapons have included the long-established tribal tradition of cattle rustling, especially when a young man is seeking the "bride price" in order to get married. People also often distrust the police and army, and so are reluctant to give them a monopoly of guns, according to Duke.

He also pointed to fears that elections due in 2015 could lead to an upsurge in violence. "South Sudan is now less stable than before independence … As the elections draw nearer, the politics will be heightened. If it is a truly democratic process, people will give them [the politicians] their votes. But others may use violence to keep power … Some politicians have their own arsenals of weapons. They are like warlords. So it is a dangerous situation."

Riak Gok Majok, acting head of the government's Bureau for Community Security and Small Arms Control, said the country was struggling with the legacy of a long civil war and the failure of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement to make clear provision for arms held by civilians.

"Communities fear that if they hand over their weapons, others will attack them," Gok Majok said. In 2009 he said he had produced a plan for simultaneous civilian disarmament across several states. But the project never got off the ground, partly from lack of resources. Lack of funding remained a serious problem, with his bureau largely dependent on external assistance.

Innovative approaches were nevertheless under consideration, he said, some backed by Britain's Department for International Development. One idea was a mobile theatre and a mobile school, plus radio broadcasts in English and Arabic, to educate people about disarmament.

A comprehensive regional approach, a clear legal framework establishing the entitlement to carry arms, and more work to develop alternative livelihoods, diversifying from cattle, were also required.

"We need a holistic approach to disarmament," Gok Majok said. "You can take away the gun, but you also need to disarm the mind."