Since the end of hostilities between the various warring factions in 1998, Cambodia has faced the challenge of dealing with the huge numbers of small arms which remained in society. Since 1998, the RGC has been actively addressing the widespread and destabilising proliferation of small arms. This sector does not fall under the NPRS[1]. These actions can be broadly categorised as follows:
-
Passing of Sub-Decree 38 in 1998 outlawing the possession of weapons by
the civil population and the collection of large numbers of weapons in Phnom
Penh.
-
Disarming, by the military and the police, of rural militias established
to provide village level security during the civil war.
-
A request in 1999 to the international community for assistance in
curbing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
-
Establishing the National Commission for Reform and Management of Weapons
and Explosives in Cambodia (NCRMWEC) in 2000.
-
Collection of over 120,000 weapons from
the civil population by June 2003.
-
Public destruction of more than 112,000 illegal and military surplus
weapons by crushing and burning, between 1999 and 2003.
-
Drafting a new arms law.
-
Implementing a registration and safe storage programme for the military
and police.
-
Implementing comprehensive public awareness activities in cooperation
with international donors and civil society.
-
Moving toward signing the International Arms Trade Treaty.
To
date, the RGC has made remarkable progress in its campaign to collect and
destroy illegal and surplus small arms and light weapons.
In particular, communities throughout the country are becoming aware of
weapons issues and starting to understand that the related problems of weapons
and violence need to be addressed at a local as well as national level.
However,
the proliferation, availability and use of small arms continues to have a
negative impact on Cambodian society in terms of promulgating a culture of
violence and impunity. Continued
insecurity is an obstacle to sustainable development, long-term poverty
alleviation and overseas investment. Progress has
been very positive, but continued concerted action must be maintained in order
to ensure Cambodia’s successes are sustainable.
Arms Law:
Sub-decree 38 is insufficiently comprehensive resulting in inadequate
jurisdictions to punish weapon-related crimes. The draft arms law is a solution,
but continues to await ratification by the National Assembly.
Equitable Legal Enforcement: A
culture of impunity for individuals, their families and associates well
connected to the RGC continues to pervade society, with the result that
weapon-related crimes committed by this group consistently go unpunished. One
major result of this impunity is a lack of trust
amongst ordinary citizens in the judicial system and in the commitment of the
RGC to tackling the issue of small arms and violence.
Role of the National Commission for Reform and Management of Weapons and
Explosives: The
NCRMWEC remains largely inactive, suffering from a lack of resources and
mandate.
Management of
duty weapons and collected illegal weapons:
The lack of safe storage facilities and poor management of both duty weapons and
collected illegal weapons continues to challenge the ability of the authorities
to prevent leakage of weapons from official stores. Unauthorised lending, sale
and theft of weapons from army and police posts remain a concern. Of increasing
concern is the presence of large numbers of explosives collected from the
population stored in insecure conditions in local police posts.
Capacity of law enforcement agencies: The lack
of transport and communication equipment, professional skills (such as forensic
skills), awareness of the role as public servants and insufficient salaries
continue to discourage the police from adequately fulfilling their duties. This
is compounded by corrupt practices and a weak judiciary which often serves to
benefit those who commit crime. Rural police are also powerless to act against
powerful groups who act with impunity. There is also a lack of communication
between the police and civil institutions.
Capacity of Commune Councils on security issues:
Commune Councils were elected for the first time in February 2002.
However, to date they lack specific guidelines on activities relating to local
security or any formalised relationship with the commune and district level
police. This leads to a lack of community participation on matters of local
security and general misunderstanding and distrust of the police.
Awareness of security considerations by
international organisations:
The majority of NGOs and IOs have no commitment to security issues within their
programmes, which threatens the sustainability of development inputs.
Demobilization and disarmament:
The lack of a disarmament element and the suspension of the demobilization
process have had a negative impact on efforts to reduce the numbers of weapons
in the hands of individuals with past or present links to the military.
Influx of large numbers of handguns especially in urban areas: A primary success of
Sub-Decree 38 and consequent raising of public awareness has been a reduction in
the numbers of military-style weapons (e.g. AK 47s) in the hands of the civil
population. The rise in numbers, availability and use of easily concealed
handguns (such as K54s and K59s) especially in urban areas is a matter of
serious concern as is the supply source of such weapons.
·
The CG, RGC and the
international community should encourage the National Assembly to ratify the
draft arms law as soon as possible.
·
At the same time, the RGC
should remain absolutely committed to enforcing existing weapons-related
regulations and work toward finalising the sub-decrees of application concerning
export/ import, transportation, management etc. for the new law.
·
The RGC should make all
efforts possible to ensure equity before the law for those involved with
weapons-related offences. Stringent law enforcement will have a considerable
impact on local level security issues and national perceptions.
·
The RGC should work to
strengthen the role of the NCRMWEC particularly in relation to rapid response to
emerging issues and a full participatory approach with agencies involved in
weapons collection and peace-building activities.
·
The RGC/NCRMWEC should
make a concerted effort to remove explosives from rural police posts.
·
The RGC should continue to
implement a nationwide programme of registration and safe storage of all duty
weapons under the jurisdiction of the military and police.
All collected illegal weapons from the civil population should be
recorded before being publicly destroyed.
·
The RGC should seek
further assistance to increase the capacity of law enforcement agencies (the
police) especially in rural areas. A particular emphasis should be placed on
training equipment, community relations and participation and professional
conduct for district and commune level police
officers.
·
The RGC should develop
specific guidelines within the Commune Council development plan for activities
relating to security. There should be a specific emphasis on formalising
relations between the commune councils and the commune and district police with
a view to continuing weapons collection and public awareness activities.
·
International
organisations should make a formal commitment to work in cooperation with the
commune councils in their target areas on the issue of security. The commune
council guidelines should create as far as possible a full community
participatory approach on provision of security.
·
The RGC should make a full
commitment to ensure security for all citizens, especially those in remote
areas. Small arms, landmines and physical
security are a major public health issue for Cambodia, and they need to be
handled as such at the local level with coherent support from the central
authorities.
·
The RGC should pressure
international organisations to integrate security issues into the core planning
of development programmes.
·
NGOs and IOs should commit
to participating fully in security coordination activities within programme
target areas including exchange of information, attendance at community security
meetings etc.
·
The RGC and the World Bank
should work in close cooperation to restart the demobilisation process in a
transparent fashion with an emphasis on ensuring successful social reintegration
of soldiers and weapons management.
The RGC should act as strongly as possible to enforce the law on handguns in urban areas, and insist that the police and security forces work to prevent all trade and import in handguns.
[1] National Poverty Reduction Strategy
For more information and the issues raised in this paper, please contact
Working Group on Weapons Reduction, Tel: 023 222462, Email: WGWR@online.com.kh