1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,520 A police officer and a bank official were shot dead by armed bank robbers in a shootout 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:13,180 with police in Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania. 3 00:00:13,180 --> 00:00:21,480 It could be any city in the world, but it's still two more deaths because of illicit guns. 4 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:26,200 Illicit guns kill about half a million people worldwide every year. 5 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,200 Tanzania suffers most, and it's here where hundreds of thousands of illegal small arms 6 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:34,160 and light weapons are in circulation. 7 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:37,440 These weapons are cheap, portable and readily available. 8 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:41,740 In a continent struggling with famine, corruption, disease and conflict, the abundant supply 9 00:00:41,740 --> 00:00:45,040 of illicit weapons is holding up development. 10 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:50,480 This one is a military weapon, highly dangerous to the public. 11 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:54,720 It can carry 30 rounds of ammunition. 12 00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:00,840 It fires more or less the same like AK-47, so it's got the same capabilities. 13 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,560 It's a Makarov pistol, it's a Chinese made. 14 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:10,640 There are plenty, plenty in our country, plenty in our country. 15 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:15,120 Tanzania has had a relatively peaceful history through colonial times and into the era of 16 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:16,120 independence. 17 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:21,080 Today, the rate of violent crime and exposure to armed conflict is low by comparison with 18 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,360 other East African countries. 19 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:28,560 Yet recent official surveys suggested there were about 700,000 guns held by the civilian 20 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:29,560 population. 21 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:35,480 In some regions, it was reckoned that 24% of households held at least one firearm, particularly 22 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,400 in border regions. 23 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,200 Tanzania neighbours countries like Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo 24 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,040 and other countries with a troubled history. 25 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:45,560 Tanzania is not lucky enough to be an island. 26 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,560 She's got nine neighbours. 27 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:53,400 Of the nine neighbours, eight of them are or were in conflict at one point in time. 28 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,120 Some of them still are today. 29 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:59,240 Tanzania is a peaceful country. 30 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:06,120 We had to agree receiving refugees and these refugees came with firearms and some did not 31 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,320 declare them. 32 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,680 Tanzanians also have a cultural attachment to guns. 33 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:17,040 Hand-crafted, muzzle-loading guns have been used for ceremonial occasions since the 19th 34 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:18,800 century here. 35 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:24,240 Now criminals are turning to local artisan gunsmiths for cheap and deadly weapons. 36 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:38,120 This is a modified shotgun, locally modified, and it has the capability of firing ammunition 37 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,480 of a modern shotgun. 38 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:46,200 For the last 50 years, the Great Lakes region of Africa has been at the centre of the proliferation 39 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,360 of illegal guns. 40 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,300 Illegal guns have fuelled criminality and political instability and have crippled economic 41 00:02:52,300 --> 00:02:55,000 development here for decades. 42 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,240 Peace and security is a precondition of development and growth. 43 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:04,720 Once there is insecurity, there is a lack of production, there is a lack of movement 44 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:09,060 of people, there is a lack of movement of goods and there is a general sort of deterioration 45 00:03:09,060 --> 00:03:12,120 of the economic well-being of that community. 46 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:20,080 In the year 2000, the countries of the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes regions signed a 47 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:26,480 declaration in Nairobi to tackle the problem of small arms. 48 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:31,440 In 2001, Tanzania embarked on a five-year national plan of action and set up an arms 49 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:33,600 management and disarmament committee. 50 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:38,420 The Tanzanian government are working with Safer Africa, disarmament specialists funded 51 00:03:38,420 --> 00:03:41,360 by the European Union. 52 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:46,200 The action plan quickly identified the need for detailed record-keeping and traceability 53 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,400 of licensed firearms. 54 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:53,880 While the previous paper records were diligently maintained, sheer volume meant it could take 55 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:58,920 six months to trace the owner of a weapon found at a crime scene. 56 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:03,600 A new computer-based system was put in place and about 10,000 records a month are currently 57 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:08,560 being entered. 58 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,360 All guns must now be registered. 59 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,760 Owners have to bring their gun in person to the police station to have the make and model 60 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,560 verified by a trained officer. 61 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:24,280 Illicit firearms recovered are carefully managed in stockpiles, ready for destruction. 62 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:28,480 While the ambition is to eliminate and destroy illegal weapons, the proper registration and 63 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,960 licensing system will allow for legal gun ownership. 64 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:37,880 A feeling of insecurity is common in many rural areas and farmers want a gun to protect 65 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:47,080 themselves and their property. 66 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:52,480 I want my gun to take care of my herd of cattle and to protect them from thieves. 67 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:58,560 I need it to take care of my other property on the farm. 68 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:00,260 We live here with many problems. 69 00:05:00,260 --> 00:05:09,580 There are monkeys, wild pigs, lions that might attack my cattle in the corral and hyenas. 70 00:05:09,580 --> 00:05:14,700 It is a common misconception internationally that you measure success by the number of 71 00:05:14,700 --> 00:05:16,820 firearms you have destroyed. 72 00:05:16,820 --> 00:05:23,780 So really destroying or counting just numbers is not a game. 73 00:05:23,780 --> 00:05:28,900 What is important here is what have you done to stop the dysfunction and prevent the dysfunction 74 00:05:28,900 --> 00:05:30,420 from happening again. 75 00:05:30,420 --> 00:05:36,020 And that is how you should measure success in a disarmament programme. 76 00:05:36,020 --> 00:05:40,440 The Arms Management and Disarmament Plan in Tanzania has had significant success across 77 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:41,700 the country. 78 00:05:41,700 --> 00:05:45,500 It's the first comprehensive national approach anywhere in the world and is being offered 79 00:05:45,500 --> 00:05:47,980 as an example for the region. 80 00:05:47,980 --> 00:05:52,820 The government has recognised the need to work from the top down, from updating legislation, 81 00:05:52,820 --> 00:05:56,980 training police officers, to working with the public in tackling the problem. 82 00:05:56,980 --> 00:06:00,060 The civil society and law enforcement agencies are working together. 83 00:06:00,060 --> 00:06:02,460 Before it was not like that. 84 00:06:02,460 --> 00:06:07,020 The law enforcement agencies by themselves, they were not cooperating. 85 00:06:07,020 --> 00:06:10,340 Customs and police were different things. 86 00:06:10,340 --> 00:06:13,740 The police and the army were quarrelling. 87 00:06:13,740 --> 00:06:16,780 Now it is together, they are working together. 88 00:06:16,780 --> 00:06:20,580 So this took us years, but we have managed. 89 00:06:20,580 --> 00:06:25,460 We have established that sort of cooperation. 90 00:06:25,460 --> 00:06:29,740 To ensure public confidence remains high and that practical management and disarmament 91 00:06:29,740 --> 00:06:34,980 continues, public displays of gun destruction are held around the country using a mobile 92 00:06:34,980 --> 00:06:38,140 gun cruncher. 93 00:06:38,140 --> 00:06:42,540 If people have committed to giving up their gun for a safer society, they want an assurance 94 00:06:42,540 --> 00:06:46,340 that it will be destroyed. 95 00:06:46,340 --> 00:06:50,820 Before the disarmament programme, Tanzanian authorities were recovering about 400 illegal 96 00:06:50,820 --> 00:06:58,380 guns a year, but annual seizures have now risen to over 1,600 weapons. 97 00:06:58,380 --> 00:07:02,860 The long-term success of this programme will also depend on public awareness and support 98 00:07:02,860 --> 00:07:05,940 to rid society of the threat of small arms. 99 00:07:05,940 --> 00:07:09,580 In the region, the countries of the Great Lakes will have to address the proliferation 100 00:07:09,580 --> 00:07:12,860 and trafficking in small arms within their borders. 101 00:07:12,860 --> 00:07:18,420 And here's where the international community shares responsibility for making that happen. 102 00:07:18,420 --> 00:07:22,620 The European Union has seen the devastating impact of illicit small arms in developing 103 00:07:22,620 --> 00:07:23,900 countries. 104 00:07:23,900 --> 00:07:28,540 Its support for the disarmament work in Tanzania should help other countries recognise what's 105 00:07:28,540 --> 00:07:29,540 possible. 106 00:07:29,540 --> 00:07:34,340 Tanzania is an example, not only in the African continent, but on the African continent by 107 00:07:34,340 --> 00:07:40,060 far, in terms of what government and civil society can do together once they cooperate 108 00:07:40,060 --> 00:07:42,420 on a common problem. 109 00:07:42,420 --> 00:07:46,900 On a continent where poverty reduction is a matter of life and death, progress must 110 00:07:46,900 --> 00:07:49,700 not be undermined by illicit guns. 111 00:07:49,700 --> 00:07:53,980 The international community can help with technical and financial aid, but also by a 112 00:07:53,980 --> 00:07:59,060 political commitment to make the link between security and development on the world stage.