dc.description.abstract | Africa is faced by various challenges such as maintaining peace and security. This can
be evidenced by increase in the number of refugees in the last decade, increase in the
number of internally displaced persons, intentional killing of civilians, torturing and
using of child soldiers among others. Various efforts have been put in place in terms
of treaties and protocols by the state actors to deal in challenges of security concerns.
However, security concerns seem to worsen overtime especially with the misuse and
rise of illegal arms. The rise of illegal arms possession is attributed to complex
innovative trafficking. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the root causes of
International Arms Trafficking (IAT) in Africa by looking at Kenya and Somalia as
case studies, the study further examined the nature and trends of IAT, major impacts
of IAT, the various mechanisms put in place to help combat the problem and the
challenges and opportunities encountered in addressing the problem. The study also
evaluated how successful the mechanisms put in place by the state and various
international organizations and it identify the obstacles which act as setbacks. The
study used realism theory in the course of analysis. Realism theory only recognizes
states as the sole key actors of the international system. Hence, in reference to IAT
this is carried out by non- state actors to undermine state sovereignty. As a result,
states and non-state actors are often in an asymmetrical confrontation. The theory
identified IAT as a unique challenge to the state system. The study relied on both
secondary and primary data, these included telephone interviews and online
questionnaires. The study established that the nature and trends of unlawful AT form
part of the contributing factors driving the demand and supply of arms in Kenya and
Somalia. With a constant supply of firearms to Africa, their usage becomes
uncontrollable. In return, international proliferation of arms, which traces back to the
world war, take root in various countries. Consequently, such weaponry in Kenya and
Somalia, and other African countries poses threats to Africa's peace and security. The
study also revealed that the proliferation of illicit firearms in Africa affects the
national safety of developing countries and human security by giving rise to conflicts
and insecurities within social settings; the impact of IAT on peace and security
include: compromised human security, underdeveloped countries falling victims of
violence because of anarchy and political instability, insecurity and poor health,
massive debt and natural disasters that mar developing countries; Opportunities in
managing illicit AT include establishing the sources of illegal arms such as unlicensed
craft production and foreign flow of illicit weapons, tracking weapons and
ammunition seizures and pricing and giving civic education to the people. The
challenges encountered in managing illicit AT include: porous borders in that
countries pay less attention to border control hence paving the way for continued
smuggling of illegal goods, including drugs, humans, and firearms, high and low level
forms of corruption in Kenya and Somalia, presence of refugees, poor condition of
state security forces caused by a slow development of social and economic
democracy, political instability and inadequate policy framework. This study
therefore, makes the following recommendations: there is need to establish an arms
control management system, exercising border control and monitoring and having a
proper refugee’s management system | en_US |