Micro-disarmament experiences in Africa: Learning from the Karamoja integrated disarmament and development programme, north- eastern Uganda

ABSTRACT Micro-disarmament, which refers to the removal of small arms and light weapons (SALW) from the civilian population, is one of the recent international policy frameworks through which the global challenge of illicit gun proliferation has been approached. Although Africa still grapples with this challenge, a number of successful micro-disarmament programmes have been implemented from which important lessons can be drawn. One such success story has been the disarmament of pastoral communities in the Karamoja region of north-eastern Uganda under the Karamoja Integrated Disarmament and Development Programme (KIDDP). This paper argues that even though micro-disarmament success may be context specific, there are generic conceptual and practical lessons that should be learned from the KIDDP. Particularly, the paper argues that a human security approach anchored on a well-coordinated multi-actor structural framework is an essential lesson from the KIDDP which can benefit the rest of the African communities still grappling with the management of small arms infiltration.