Rwanda has unveiled a shear arms crushing machine to facilitate the destruction of obsolete small arms and light weapons which are described as a major cause of violence in most African countries, a police statement confirmed Friday in Kigali.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Administration and Personnel, Juvenal Marizamunda received the environmental friendly machine from the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) in Kigali.
Since 2006, the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly recognized that the absence of common international standards for the transfer of conventional arms contributes to armed conflict, displacement, and terrorism and other crime.
Since 2013, Rwanda was among the first countries to enact and revise its regulations on small arms in line with international and regional obligation of legal harmonisation.
Commenting on the move, the senior Rwandan Police officer noted that uncontrolled traffic of small arms and light weapons remains a major source of insecurity, either by fueling armed conflicts or organised crime such as armed robberies, drug trafficking and terrorism in addition to the loss of lives and property.
“To deal with these serious hindrances to sustainable peace, security and development, it is important to pull efforts together to curb the vice,” Marizamunda said.
Rwanda’s security officials believe that the shear machine will help to promote continuous destruction exercise hence preventing big piles of obsolete firearms; enhance the curbing of diversion and proliferation of small arms and light weapons; improve weapons management and control, and ensure proper accountability of firearms.
Among other measures put in place by Rwanda to prevent and control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, it also includes laws and community awareness as well as arms’ marking.
The existing electronic arms record keeping software has been instrumental in enhancing effective arms record keeping and accountability hence minimising possible misuse of arms and this has had a positive impact on reduction of armed crimes, according to the Police.
CU/abj/APA