Regional Consultative Meeting Examining Common Regional Understandings to Strengthen End Use/r Control Systems to Prevent Arms Diversion, organized by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)

06/10/2016
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07/10/2016
Activity description

UNIDIR held a two-day regional consultative meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, which benefited from the participation of representatives from seven African States, namely: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mauritius, Somalia, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania. Experts from specialized organizations such as Conflict Armament Research, the International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) and the Regional Centre on Small Arms in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States (RECSA) also participated in the meeting. The overall guiding question for this regional consultative meeting was: “How can States enhance shared understandings and cooperation to strengthen their national end use/r control systems in a practical manner in order to mitigate the risk of diversion to unauthorized end users and/or end uses?” The meeting included presentations by national experts on their end use/r control systems as well as a discussion on the challenges and opportunities for enhancing cooperation and strengthening end use/r systems at the sub/regional and global levels. At the end of the meeting, several options and avenues for ways forward were identified.

Project description

UNIDIR's project, Tackling Diversion (Phase II): Promoting Regional Dialogue to Enhance Common Understanding and Cooperation to Strengthen End Use/r Control Systems, provides a platform to facilitate an inclusive global dialogue which seeks to identify possible options and avenues within and beyond existing global and regional instruments to strengthen end use/r control systems and, in doing so, to more effectively address the diversion of arms. The project recognizes that greater cooperation and alignment between States with regards to common practices and procedures in end use/r control systems will enhance the ability of relevant national stakeholders to more effectively identify and mitigate the risk of arms diversion.

Type of Activity
Institutional capacity-building
Sensitization and outreach
Focus of Activity
Diversion
International instruments
Regional cooperation
Regional instruments
Risk assessments
Transfer controls
Partners
Algeria
Burkina Faso
Ghana
Kenya
Mauritius
Somalia
South Africa
Tanzania
Implementers
The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
Donors
UN Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR)
Contact Details

United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
Address: Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 (0)22 917 31 86/15 83
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 01 76
Email: unidir@unog.ch
Website: http://www.unidir.org