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Regional Centre on Small Arms to be Established in Nairobi

L-R: Hon. Ali Mwakwere and Hon. Augustine Nshimye

The 3rd Ministerial Review Conference on the Nairobi Declaration on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa was held in Nairobi, June 20-21, 2005.

Kenya’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Chirau Ali Mwakwere, chaired the meeting. The Ministers considered a draft Agreement on the establishment of a Regional Centre on Small Arms (RESCA), and signed the Agreement setting up the Centre.

They also signed a Ministerial Declaration for Implementation of Practical Action on Small Arms; and Best Practice Guidelines and Minimum Common Standards on Key Issues regarding the implementation of the Nairobi Protocol.

Kenya will sign a Headquarters Agreement for hosting RESCA. The Ministers decided that the Centre should be staffed by professionals to be recruited through competitive interviews taking into account equitable representation of all member states.

Uganda’s delegation was led by Hon. Augustine Nshimye, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Regional Co-operation), and included Mr. Richard Nabudere, National Focal Point, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a representative of Civil Society.

Ministers and Plenipotentiaries from Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Seychelles, Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti attended.

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