A China-United Nations-Africa training program on small arms control opened in Beijing on Tuesday, aiming to tackle security challenges across the continent.
Officials note that illicit small arms and light weapons are rampant across Africa, with frequent conflicts and violent crime posing major challenges to regional security governance. The African Union (AU) has stressed the urgency of silencing the guns and curbing illicit trafficking. The program, known as the "Training of Trainer (ToT) Capacity Building Programme on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) for the African Great Lakes Region," aims to help African countries strengthen control of small arms, reduce the risk of illicit diversion of stockpiled weapons, and support the AU's "Silencing the Guns" initiative. Officials also noted that small arms and light weapons, because of their portability, concealability and lethality, are easily trafficked and can trigger armed conflicts, violent crime and terrorist activity, putting civilian lives and property at risk.
At the opening ceremony, Alhaji Mohamed Sarjoh Bah, permanent representative of the AU to China, said that the application of emerging technologies has brought new challenges to small arms and light weapons control. The emergence of autonomous weapons systems on some battlefields in Africa has posed fresh challenges to efforts to combat the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons.
"The use of drones for surveillance and military attacks has changed the calculations in the battlefield, increased the lethality of their actions, and more critically, exposed civilians, including women and children, to immense sufferings.In this context, the African Union views autonomous weapons systems as an urgent threat requiring our urgent attention," he said.
The training program, supported by the China-UN Peace and Development Fund, will last 21 days. Participants will engage in in-depth study and discussions on topics including domestic control of small arms and light weapons and international cooperation. A senior official from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at the opening ceremony that with global conflicts and crises intertwined, irresponsible arms export policies have further increased the risk of small arms and light weapons flowing into Africa.
Supporting and helping African countries enhance their control capabilities and jointly combating illicit arms trafficking have become an urgent priority.
"China stands ready to work with African countries to actively advance the regional governance process on small arms and light weapons, carry out more bilateral and multilateral control cooperation at international and regional levels, contribute to enhancing African countries' security governance capacity and achieving the goal of 'Silencing the Guns,' and promote the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future through concrete actions," said China's Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin.
China-UN-Africa training on small arms control opens in Beijing
