AfricaAfrican Union Campaigning to Achieve Peace and End ConflictBy Zipporah Musau, Africa RenewalNEW YORK (IDN) – Realising a conflict-free Africa is the dream of every African. In 2013 African Union (AU) member state representatives gathered at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the Organisation of African Unity was established in 1963, to celebrate the body’s 50th anniversary. 80% of all small arms in Africa are in the hands of civilians, according to the Small Arms Survey (SAS), an independent Geneva-based research centre which generates evidence-based, impartial, and policy-relevant knowledge and analysis on small arms and armed violence issues for governments, policy-makers, researchers, and civil society. Twenty-two African countries also manufacture various kinds of small arms and light weapons. Porous borders and long coastlines also enable traffickers to smuggle small arms between countries.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 01, 2020 20:48 UTC