Peacekeeping missions could not succeed unless they involved the destruction of weaponry used in conflicts, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Wednesday.
”It is important to collect the weapons that you disarm, many of whom have killed people already. (They) simply have to be destroyed,” he said in Pretoria.
”Unless we can do that, the peace missions … are not succeeding.”
Weapons not destroyed could circulate from one conflict area to the next, the minister said.
He was speaking at the launch of a publication assessing the experiences of South Africa and Lesotho in destroying surplus weapons.
It was released under the auspices of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research and the Small Arms Survey. Lekota said South Africa’s ability to destroy surplus arms was lacking — particularly when it came to aiding its neighbours. The
country needed support.
”It is critical that we find partners with whom we can collaborate to strengthen the destruction capacity — for instance mobile destruction capacity so that we can move from country to country.
”We want to do that, but we do need some capacity so that we will be able to do these things. The region as a whole will benefit from this kind of work.”
He said a number of countries in the southern African region had sought South Africa’s help. A major obstacle, however, was the lack of capacity to move weapons to destruction points.
”Some of the equipment that we have to destroy, to move it from point to point carries such serious possible dangers that we have had to suggest that there should be a hold on some of these issues,” the minister said.
Burundi was a case in point, with South Africa helping to collect arms from demobilising combatants.
”We can’t leave that equipment there. It is not going to be part of the inventory of Burundi as a nation. So we have to be able to move or establish some capacity there to destroy it,” Lekota said.
He praised South Africa’s internal efforts, which have resulted since 1999 in the destruction of about 260 000 and 75 000 weapons by the defence force and police respectively.
South Africa’s success in curbing illicit weapons trafficking was clear from an increase in weapons thefts from police and law-abiding civilians. This showed that criminals could not find illegal guns as easily as they used to, Lekota said.
The publication hailed South Africa’s decision to destroy surplus state-owned weapons rather than selling them, despite budget constraints.
Operation Mouflon, which saw 262,667 defence force weapons destroyed by May 2001, was conducted at a cost of nearly R2-million, about R400 000 of which was funded by donors.
The defence department made some $20 000 from the sale of scrap metal.
A similar operation in Lesotho, with South Africa’s assistance, resulted in the destruction of 3 843 weapons in November 2001, funded by donors to the tune of $15 000.
”Both Lesotho and South Africa have illustrated to the donor community that funding for the destruction of surplus state-owned weapons can be done professionally, competently and cost-effectively,” the publication states. – Sapa