SAC NEWS

Issue 6, Jan 18, 2007

Weapons are not history yet in Cambodia
Address:
Room No.535, Phnom Penh Center,
Corner Sihanouk Blvd. No.274 &Sothearos St. No.3,
Sangkat Tonle Bassac,
Khan Chamkarmon,
Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA
PHONE: +855-[0]23-224-001
FAX: +855-[0]23-220-330
E-MAIL: adm.jsac@online.com.kh
URL: http://www.online.com.kh/users/adm.jsac/

A civilian surrenders his weapon to the police at a JSAC
workshop in Battambang Province. The voluntary surrenderof illegal weapons indicates that the residents haveunderstood the Arms Law, and are now willing to cooperatewith the police and authorities in maintaining peace andsecurity in their communities.
In 2006, JSAC and the Ministry of Interior of Cambodia collected and discovered 13,372 weapons with the cooperation of local
residents in the two target provinces (Battambang and Kampong Thom). The Royal Government of Cambodia has made substantial
progress in dealing with the large quantity of small arms remaining as a result of the civil war. More than 200,000 collected weapons
or surplus weapons have been destroyed. However, a considerable number of illegal small arms are still kept in rural areas andremain a threat to peace and public safety.
It is evident that the removal of illegal weapons from their communities will directly contribute to securing peace and public
security. However, the voluntary surrender of weapons is also the first step in building confidence and cooperative relations between
residents and local authorities/police, and such relations are crucial for maintaining peace and safety in their communities. JSAC
carries out various activities in order to ensure that this Program's weapons collection process will establish a sustainable small arms
management structure after its completion. Supporting confidence building between residents, police and local authorities,
supporting capacity building and establishing systems for weapons management, awareness raising activities to officials and thepublic; all of these activities are crucial in establishing and maintaining a peaceful and secure society without weapons.
In this regard, in 2006, the Program has carried out the following activities and has achieved;・collection and removal of 13,372 small arms as a result of residents' cooperation
・public destruction of 9,798 weapons
・organizing 1,243 workshops which informed 88,291 residents, local authorities, police, NGO and media staff
on small arms issues and contributed in building confidence among participants・training 643 local police officers for capacity building on community security and weapons management
・establishing secure weapons management systems (storage facilities and computer systems) in 2 provinces
・distribution, posting and broadcasting of public awareness materials and media programs

This JSAC/Ministry of Interior
Program is scheduled to continue
until September 2007.
We look forward to your continuing
understanding and support.

About JSAC (Japan Assistance Team for Small Arms Management in Cambodia)
JSAC was established by Japan International Cooperation Systems (JICS) for the implementation of the "Comprehensive Peace Building and Comprehensive Small Arms Management Program in Cambodia", a grant aid provided by the Government of Japan to the Government of Cambodia. TheProgramme aims to to reduce small arms and peace building comprehensively through 5 projects (1. Weapons Reduction and Development for Peace
Project , 2. Safe Storage and Registration Project, 3. Weapons Destruction Project, 4. Public Awareness Project, 5. National Commission Support Project). The Programme has collected a total of 25,513 small arms in 5 Provinces as of mid-Dec 2006.
Please see JSAC's website for details. URL: http://www.online.com.kh/users/adm.jsac/