UNIDIR Weapons and Ammunition Management Baseline Assessment in Burkina Faso

31/07/2018
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03/08/2018
Activity description

From 31 July to 3 August 2018, the Government of Burkina Faso, through the National Commission for the Fight against the Proliferation of Small Arms (CNLPAL), in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), in cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held a series of consultative meetings and workshops on national frameworks on weapons and ammunition management (WAM) in Ouagadougou aimed at assisting the Government of Burkina Faso in designing and developing a technical roadmap for a comprehensive national WAM framework governing weapons and ammunition. The consultative process brought together a range of representatives, experts and practitioners from various Burkinabe institutions and security agencies. These included representatives and experts from CNLPAL, the High Authority on Arms Imports Control and Their Use (HACIAU), the Ministry of Security (MoS), the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Civic Promotion (MoJ), the Ministry of Mines, Quarries and Energy (MMCE), the Armed Forces of Burkina Faso, the National Police, the Gendarmerie, the Municipal Police, Water and Forestry Services, Customs, members of the National Assembly (from the Defense and Security Committee) as well as members of Burkina Faso’s civil society, including from the Association of Manufacturers, Repairers, Importers of Ammunition and Firearms (AFRIMA). Further, representatives and technical advisors from the UNIDIR, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) of Liberia, and the Small Arms and Light Weapons Control Division of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) participated in and facilitated the process. Representatives from specialized international non-governmental organizations, including the Mine Advisory Group (MAG), also participated in the consultative process. 

Project description

This activity is part of UNIDIR's research project on strengthening policies and frameworks for weapons and ammunition management on the national, regional and multilateral levels and seeks to promote knowledge among States, regional organizations and the United Nations system on ways to strengthen policy and practice governing the full lifecycle of weapon and ammunition to prevent their diversion and misuse. The baseline assessments are conducted upon request by the host government and are organized under the ownership and lead of the host Governments. They take the form of a national consultative process that facilitate dialogue and decision-making among all relevant national security stakeholders on WAM and related security issues. 

Type of Activity
Institutional capacity-building
Sensitization and outreach
Focus of Activity
Ammunition
Destruction
Diversion
Import controls
International instruments
Inventory and stockpile management
Marking
Regional instruments
Small arms and light weapons (SALW) controls
Tracing
Transfer controls
Transit and trans-shipment controls
Partners
Burkina Faso
Implementers
The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
Donors
Germany
Japan
Switzerland
Contact Details

UNIDIR 

Palais des Nations 1211, Geneva 10, Switzerland

Tel.: +41 22 917 11 41
E-mail: unidir@un.org
Point of Contact: Himayu Shiotani
Phone: +41 22 917 2181
E-mail: himayu.shiotani@un.org