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Small Arms and Insecurity

     (i)         Introduction

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.

     (ii)       Key Issues

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. 

      (iii)        Recommendations

Arms law

·         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.

Equitable legal enforcement

·         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. 

Role of the National Commission for Reform and Management of Weapons and Explosives

·         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.

Management of duty weapons and collected illegal weapons

·         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.

Capacity of law enforcement agencies

·         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.

Capacity of Commune Councils on security issues

·         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.

Awareness of security considerations by international organisations

·         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.

Demobilization and disarmament

·         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. 

Influx of large numbers of handguns especially in urban areas

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. 

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[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