Establishing a Civil Society Network on Small Arms and Light Weapons in Southern Sudan

Reflections on first steps

In 2005, Southern Sudan emerged from a brutal 22 year civil war. Yet five years later, the semi-autonomous territory remains mired in poverty and frought with numerous conflicts to which disputes over natural resources, miltias, corruption, state weakness and the widespread availability of small arms and light weapons all contribute.

In this context civil society organisations have an important role to play in developing a participatory approach to arms control that is based on the real needs of local people in their communities. Saferworld has been working in Southern Sudan since 2006 to support the formation of a network of these organisations to address small arms problems in the post war context – the Southern Sudanese Action Network on Small Arms (SSANSA).

Based on an internal review carried out in August 2009, this report details the methods used to identify, capacitate and mobilise member organisations and assesses the effectiveness of these efforts. It reflects on how best to build a diverse, capable and legitimate civil society constituency on small arms control and community security issues in Southern Sudan.