UNMAS NAP Workshop - Towards a national strategy to control the management of small arms and light weapons in the CAR
From 10 to 13 July 2018, UNMAS organized a workshop on CAR's national SALW-control strategy in Bangui. The workshop brought together representatives from CAR ministries with responsibilities related to SALW control, civil society, the international community, international organizations, and financial institutions.
Consisting of thematic presentations, group work, and plenary discussions, the workshop aimed at exchanging experiences regarding the issue of SALW in CAR, identifying priority themes to reduce risks, and agreeing on national implementation strategies. Participants also discussed the roles and functions of the new National Commission for the Fight against Illicit Trade and Trafficking in Small Arms (ComNat-ALPC) and the development of a draft national strategy on SALW.
Deployed as part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), UNMAS supports the national authorities of CAR on weapons and ammunition management and SALW misuse and illicit proliferation. UNMAS works with the Central African Defense and Internal Security Forces (FDSI) and the National Commission for the Fight against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NATCOM-SALW).
Since deployment began in 2014, UNMAS in CAR has carried out the destruction of ammunition as well as non-functional or obsolete weapons collected by MINUSCA or under the DDRR National Programme. UNMAS hasl also supported the construction or rehabilitation of armories and temporary storage kits and provided WAM training to the national defense and security forces.
