Battling Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons through Firearm Amnesty

Zambezi District lies in the Western part of North-Western Province of Zambia. The Province shares its boundary with Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the 1970¿s, the security situation started deteriorating when illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons crossed the borders and flooded the district as a result of raging civil strife in neighbouring countries. In the 2000¿s violent crimes committed with the assistance of illicit firearms gained nation-wide media prominence. Emboldened by the easily accessible and affordable illicit firearms, local gangs termed ¿Karavinäs¿ translated as ¿hired killers¿, constituted perpetrators. To limit the prevalence of these offensive weapons seen as a cause of these violent crime, Government responded by introducing a Voluntary Firearm Amnesty in line with the UN Programme of Action and the SADC Protocol. The book examines the effectiveness of this programme in terms of limiting the spread of the illicit firearms and reducing their quantity. The book also interrogates the resultant impact of the programme on the rate of violent crime and the general security situation in the district.