§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the progress of the National Small Arms Action Plans in Southern African countries. [171677]
§ Hilary BennUnder the joint DFID/FCO/MoD Global Conflict Prevention Pool Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Strategy the UK Government have been supporting, since February 2003, a programme to conduct in-depth assessments of small arms issues. The aim is to develop and implement National Action Plans (NAPs) in four East and Southern African countries to address the problem of the proliferation and illicit trafficking of SALW. The NGOs Saferworld and SaferAfrica are undertaking the work together with national Governments and local civil society organisations in Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia and Uganda.
This process is most advanced in East Africa where a draft NAP is with the Kenyan National Security Council for approval. In the Southern African states of Mozambique and Namibia the process is not as advanced. In Namibia the preparatory phase commenced in late 2003 and the mapping process only began last month. In Mozambique the process has been delayed due to a variety of local circumstances, and the timetable is currently being re-assessed.
Although no formal assessments have yet been undertaken due to the preparatory nature of the work in Southern Africa, DFID is committed to evaluating what progress has been made and the effectiveness of the National Action Plans overall at the appropriate stages in the process. The NAPs will be regularly reviewed through on-going reports from the field and by undertaking more formal assessments as part of on-going programme management. An external review of the programme in East Africa is planned for June and this will guide future evaluations of the work in Southern Africa.