Kenya: Refocusing small arms interventions on impact: Connecting global policy to community driven approaches to security

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

At a formal level, Kenya qualifies as a champion of SALW control. However, there is ample evidence that international and national SALW interventions and goals in Kenya have not addressed the problem sufficiently locally, especially in pastoralist areas where communities who are nomadic have to seek out and share limited pasture and water resources, bringing them into conflict with each other. The intention is to help communities achieve their rights to security, currently under threat from the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW), by ensuring that the communities themselves are at the heart of the prioritisation, planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the programme. As well as being of immediate benefit to the ‘target’ communities, by developing credible evidence from these practical efforts the programme also intends to inform national and international processes Across two locations in Kenya, this project aims to address some of the factors contributing to insecurity, with a view to make a positive contribution to meeting the national development agenda under the following areas: 1. Enhancement of security along the borders to address proliferation of small arms across the borders; 2. Institutionalising national and inter-community dialogue in order to build harmony among ethnic, racial and other interest groups; 3. Deepening policy, legal and institutional reform for improved enforcement of law and order. During the two yearlong project several seminars, forums and workshops will be organized on security and monitoring the use of SALW for both local people and authorities. Theinteraction between local population and local authorities will be strengthened. The aim is also to develop locally ways to reduce the proliferation and misuse of SALW. During the program interaction between the local beneficiaries and international experts on SALW will be organized. The program will be implemented by an NGO spezialized on arms control with close cooperation with local Kenyan partners. http://www.saferworld.org.uk/where/kenya