PRESS BRIEFING BY DIRECTOR OF CENTRE FOR DISARMAMENT AFFAIRS
Press Briefing
PRESS BRIEFING BY DIRECTOR OF CENTRE FOR DISARMAMENT AFFAIRS
19960403
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
The Director of the Centre for Disarmament Affairs and one of the managers of the Trust Fund for Confidence Building and Disarmament in Central Africa, Prvoslav Davinic, addressed correspondents following the 2 April noon briefing at United Nations Headquarters. The Deputy Spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, indicated that Mr. Davinic had just returned from Mali, which he described as "one of the great success stories of the United Nations".
Mr. Davinic, relating his participation at the bonfire of almost 3,000 small weapons in Timbuktu, Mali on 27 March, described the event as "the most spectacular part of an ongoing process" in restoring peace and security to Mali.
The bonfire, he said, was "part and parcel of the peace agreement" reached in 1995 by the Mali Government and the combatants. The agreement would help to build a civil society along the lines of democratic institutions and human rights. It would also help the country in strengthening its economy and offer former combatants an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of civil life.
The weapons had belonged to the combatants in the northern part of the country; they were surrendered as part of the agreement, Mr. Davinic said. The bonfire consisted of 2,642 light weapons, of which 95 per cent were in working condition, and included rifles, grenade launchers, machine guns and pistols. Many of those weapons were in better condition than those in use by the Army of Mali, he added.
The decision to burn the weapons, in an area where the chance to bear a gun was often considered a right, was "politically courageous" on the part of the Government, as it was on the part of the combatants, Mr. Davinic said. The ceremony had made a great impression on Malian society.
The ceremony was part of a "dual track approach" that had been going on in Mali for the last couple of years, he added. One was carried out by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which worked to promote the economic development of Mali; the other was carried out by the Secretary- General, who had personally helped the President of Mali to locate the traffic of small weapons through the country.
"At some point we realized it should be a joint effort", Mr. Davinic said. "You cannot stop the traffic of small weapons and solve the problem of rebellion in that part of the country without development, and you cannot
invest in development until you have some security in the region." Thus the promotion of peace was a joint effort between UNDP and the Secretariat.
After the bonfire ceremony, the United Nations and the donor countries supporting the economic development of Mali were endeavouring to develop an even more comprehensive approach, at military, civic society and development levels, Mr. Davinic said. The Centre for Disarmament Affairs provided technical assistance in terms of military related aspects of the operation. The bonfire had been just the beginning of the process.
What happened to the remnants of the weapons after the burning? a correspondent asked, recalling the "swords into ploughshares" phrase. Mr. Davinic said it was the Government's intention to try and recycle the metal left over for other purposes.
A correspondent said that in Uganda, the northern fundamentalists were being armed by the Sudan, and asked if there was any move to have a burning of weapons in Uganda because of the similarity of the situations between it and Mali. "You're absolutely right", Mr. Davinic said, and referred the correspondent to the Secretary-General's micro-disarmament appeal which he had launched two years ago to call attention to the fact that "everyone is talking about nuclear weapons, and other weapons of mass destruction, but it seems that in view of the present situation in international relations we are not paying enough attention to those weapons that kill people in everyday conflicts".
Was there any attempt to discover who was supplying the weapons to Mali? a correspondent asked. The routes into Mali came from the north, east and west, Mr. Davinic said. He added that he would not mention the manufacturers' names because they were not necessarily responsible; the providers themselves were difficult to detect. Also, "we realized that we had to deal first with the demand for the weapons". Some 3,000 of the approximately 9,000 combatants in the area had been demobilized. "In other words, we still have a lot of work to do and hopefully the demand for weapons will decrease when the combatants engage in productive activities."
A correspondent then asked if the weapons had been surrendered voluntarily and, if any economic inducements had been offered to the combatants. The viability of the peace agreement was based on a voluntary approach, Mr. Davinic emphasized. The surrender by those fighting against the Government had been entirely voluntary, and the former combatants in the northern part of Mali were now receiving assistance provided by the donor countries. Those countries included the United States, with $1 million donated to the Trust Fund; Norway, $1 million; the Netherlands, $600,000; and Canada, $380,000. France was providing bilateral assistance to Mali and to help its armed forces convert to civilian life. "The greatest incentive is the economic assistance", Mr. Davinic said.
Disarmament Briefing - 3 - 3 April 1996
Mr. Davinic said finally that Mali was "one of the rare cases where the United Nations system, as such, has found a meaningful role in a joint effort where each part is contributing significantly to a project". This collaboration will include not only UNDP and the Political Department of the Secretariat, of which the Centre for Disarmament Affairs was a part, but also the Centre for Human Rights in Geneva, which would be looking into the civilian aspects of the process. The Political Department of the United Nations was providing political advice to UNDP and the Centre for Disarmament Affairs was contributing its expertise in military related matters such as to how these weapons should be collected and how the army might be reorganized. "We are not duplicating efforts but rather working together with great success, and hope to continue along these lines", Mr. Davinic said finally.
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