EASFCOM Signs MOU with Regional Centre on Small Arms

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Eastern Africa Standby Force Coordination Mechanism (EASFCOM) and the Regional Centre on Small Arms in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States (RECSA), was signed on 20th January 2014 at Nairobi, Kenya.

The MOU aims at developing a mechanism through which activities between the Parties could be coordinated and relations enhanced to achieve the aims and objectives of the two organizations.

The Parties agreed to cooperate in areas such as demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration (DDR) and other relevant fields. To this end, they agreed to develop local, national and regional public/community education and awareness programmes to support efforts to tackle the proliferation and illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, and to encourage responsible ownership and management of small arms and light weapons. It is agreed that such programmes must promote a culture of peace and involve, and cooperate with, all sectors of society.

The Parties also agreed to maintain technical cooperation: to seek each other’s expertise to optimize the effects of mutually agreed upon activities, to assist each other in the development and execution of programmes, projects and activities relating particularly to crimes and offences concerning illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons in a peace support operations set up, and to cooperate in monitoring and evaluation of such programmes, projects and activities of common interest subject to mutual agreement on a case by case basis.

It was further agreed that the cooperation could be facilitated by exchange of personnel on a temporary basis.