Africa: Weapons of Mass Underdevelopment

05.04.2007

Weapons of Mass Underdevelopment

On Wednesday April 4, the world celebrated International Mine Awareness Day. It has been a little over eight years since the International Mine Ban treaty, better known as the Ottawa Convention, came into effect. Although the treaty was opened for signatures on the 5th of December 1997, it only came into effect when Burkina Faso became the required fortieth signatory on the 1st of March 1999. In Africa, the event was marked with festivities in Angola, DRC, Eritrea, Kenya, Mauritania, Sudan and Western Sahara.

To date, there are still 13 countries who are not state parties to the treaty, and either actively produce, or have the capability to produce anti-personnel land-mines, the most notable of which are the United States, China, India and Russia. The total number of land-mines still stock-piled by the non-parties is a staggering 160 million. At the receiving end, in the period 2005-2006, a total of 58 countries reported new victims of all types of landmines and explosive remnants of war. This paints a chilling portrait of the devastating and lasting effects of the enterprise. The issue of land-mines and unexploded ordnance has not featured prominently in the media, since the late Princess Diana made it her cause célèbre, and yet these killers account for between 15,000 and 20,000 deaths and injuries every year (Landmine Monitor Report 2006), according to official statistics. Although still unacceptably high, this figure is down from 26,000 ten years ago, thanks to multi-lateral efforts around the globe and the cessation of hostilities in countries such as Angola and Mozambique, who accounted for a significant percentage of the casualties on the continent.

The spread of land-mines and other weapons in Africa can be contextualized within the post-colonial state building exercise of the 60s and 70s and the ensuing Cold War that made the continent a playground for competing influences. The instability that has characterized most countries of the continent can be traced to internal tensions fuelled by the Cold War and the vast stockpiles of leftover weapons. Even in countries that have been lucky to avoid major armed conflict such as Kenya, unexploded ordnance from foreign military training sites continues to destroy the lives of citizens.

Like landmines, small arms and light weapons (SALW) continue to threaten development on the continent at a social political and economic level. Conservative estimates put the worldwide circulation of SALW at a staggering 500 million. West Africa alone accounts for seven million, with similar numbers in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa. The deadly difference between the landmines and SALW is the latter's durability and re-use value, as exemplified by the ubiquitous AK-47 rifle. These weapons continue to threaten democracy and development on the continent.

The prolonged conflict in the DRC can be attributed to, among other factors, the means to challenge the state's monopoly of violence. This has compromised the role of elections as the only means of power transfer. The post-election period remains tense in the DRC, due to the continued presence of disaffected and armed groups. In Nigeria, the spectre of violence looms large, not to mention the low intensity conflict that continues to rage in the Niger Delta. Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda are but a few other hot-spots on the continent.

Countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Ghana are at peace but still bear the social cost of SALW. Illegal arms flooding the black market from nearby conflict areas are fuelling crime and challenging the ability of the state apparatus to protect the livelihoods of citizens. The state of insecurity has a negative impact on the economy, the effects of which are invariably felt by the poor. When economic growth suffers as a result of costs associated with crime, a vicious cycle kicks in and the latter grows as more people are driven to illegitimate means of survival.

The arms trade is governed by supply and demand. Although South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, to name but a few, are manufacturers of arms, the supply side is overwhelming from Europe, the US and Asia. Demand remains high on the continent, where political traditions still favour strong militaries to bolster unpopular governments that use force against their own citizens.

This is an election year on the continent. One would think this would stir feelings of hope, excitement and the sheer exhilaration at the prospect of peaceful change and the exercise of democratic rights. Sadly, these feelings are more often than not replaced with fear and resignation that the vicious cycle will go on.

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Africa: Weapons of Mass Underdevelopment