Africans called on to hand over illegal guns in amnesty

Africans are being urged to hand in illegal guns during a month-long amnesty now underway.

The African Union Commission has designated September as Africa Amnesty Month, an initiative that complements the African Union's Silencing the Guns program, which aims to end conflict on the continent by the end of this year.

The plan was declared during the 29th summit of the AU held in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, in July 2017.

The efforts are aimed at encouraging citizens to help national governments reduce the illicit flow of weapons between countries.

To strengthen ties between communities and law enforcement, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, with the African Union Commission, is supporting African countries as they implement the September amnesty.

On Saturday, Smail Chergui, the AU's commissioner for peace and security, said in a statement that the African Union Peace and Security Commission, in partnership with Small Arms Survey, had undertaken a mapping study on illicit small arms flows.

The study put the number of civilian-held weapons in Africa at 40 million in 2017, Chergui said.

"This includes private individuals, registered businesses such as private security companies, and nonstate armed groups," he said.

"This is as opposed to the estimate of the continent's armed forces and law enforcement agencies that hold less than 11 million arms."

He urged governments to redouble their efforts to address the challenge, which he called a threat to peace, governance and development.

"This is a cause for concern for all of us. We need to ask ourselves how many of these unregistered weapons have been collected, whether within the framework of the Amnesty Month, or through other national disarmament programs,"Chergui said.

He stressed that the possession of illegal weapons by nonstate individuals and groups contributes to the armed violence that plagues Africa and its people.

Removing these weapons from circulation is central to efforts to realize peace on the continent, Chergui added.

In a statement on Wednesday, the United Nations said the success of the month-long campaign requires all parts of society to come together.

"Africa Amnesty Month is part of a one-year project between the African Union Commission and the Office for Disarmament Affairs, launched in March and implemented with the Regional Centre on Small Arms," the UN said in the statement.