Regional partnerships have been identified as the surest way to bring to an end the proliferation of small arms in the Great Lakes region.

“The issue of security can no longer be approached by a single country and the idea of partnership is envisaged at a regional level,” says Programme Coordinator Peter Mbae of the Norwergian Church Aid (NCA) - East Africa.

Mr. Mbae was speaking at a roundtable on small arms addressing the issues and challenges of urban crime. The workshop was held on the 6 th and 7 th of December 2005 in Kampala Uganda.

NCA, the Fellowship of Christian Council and Churches in the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa (FECCLAHA) and Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) organised the meeting that was attended by participants from Kenya, Uganda and Burundi.

This is in line with the partnerships for peace process, an initiative of the Regional Working Group on Small Arms (a network of NCA) that seeks to strengthen cooperation between the civil society, the media, police and the private sector in tackling small arms issues in urban areas.

Canon Joyce Nima of the UJCC says that communities need to be empowered to understand their security needs and to address them.

Commissioner Asan Kasingye, a Commissioner of Police in Uganda in charge of community policing says that the economic liberalization of the market and the illegal sale of small arms has fuelled the escalation of urban crime.

A clear message emerging from the workshop is the need exists for communities, civil society organizations and local governments to ensure their own security by incorporating community policing programmes . However, the public should be encouraged to liase with the police to monitor crime.