Rwanda has unveiled a shear arms crushing machine to facilitate the destruction of obsolete small arms and light weapons which are described as a major cause of violence in most African countries, a police statement confirmed Friday in Kigali.The  Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Administration  and Personnel, Juvenal Marizamunda received the environmental friendly  machine from the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) in Kigali.

Since  2006, the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly recognized  that the absence of common international standards for the transfer of  conventional arms contributes to armed conflict, displacement, and  terrorism and other crime.

Since 2013, Rwanda was among the first  countries to enact and revise its regulations on small arms in line  with international and regional obligation of legal harmonisation.

Commenting  on the move, the senior Rwandan Police officer noted that uncontrolled  traffic of small arms and light weapons remains a major source of  insecurity, either by fueling armed conflicts or organised crime such as  armed robberies, drug trafficking and terrorism in addition to the loss  of lives and property.

“To deal with these serious hindrances to  sustainable peace, security and development, it is important to pull  efforts together to curb the vice,” Marizamunda said.

Rwanda’s  security officials believe that the shear machine will help to promote  continuous destruction exercise hence preventing big piles of obsolete  firearms; enhance the curbing of diversion and proliferation of small  arms and light weapons; improve weapons management and control, and  ensure proper accountability of firearms.

Among other measures  put in place by Rwanda to prevent and control the proliferation of small  arms and light weapons, it also includes laws and community awareness  as well as arms’ marking.

The existing electronic arms record  keeping software has been instrumental in enhancing effective arms  record keeping and accountability hence minimising possible misuse of  arms and this has had a positive impact on reduction of armed crimes,  according to the Police.