In December 2020, BICC in close cooperation and partnership with the Bundeswehr Verification Centre produced the 2021 version of the Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification Guide. Printed in a portable and user-friendly format, this Guide enables practitioners to accurately identify the most commonly found illicit small arms and light weapons as well as ammunition across the globe. Accurate identification and recording of seized weapons and ammunition and monitoring of national stockpiles is essential for the effectiveness of regional tracing and counter-trafficking initiatives.

The project “Capacity development and advice on SALW control in Africa”, launched in 2018 and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), focusses on supporting national and regional bodies in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and West Africa in the field of small arms and light weapons control (SALW) and physical security and stockpile management (PSSM). BICC’s aim is to strengthen the capacities of regional partners (African Union, RECSA, ECOWAS, SARCOM and PRESCOM) in the field of small arms control and PSSM and to link advisory activities with training programmes at the national and regional levels. The project also aims to support the African Union in the implementation of its Silencing the Guns Plan of Action and ECOWAS in the implementation of the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons. Activities undertaken in support of these work strands are aimed at the national (e.g. reactivation of national Small Arms Commissions) and regional levels (e.g. regional PSSM course with a Train-the-Trainers component) and are facilitated by BICC advisors seconded to our partner organisations. Equally, BICC lends support to RECSA to facilitate and coordinate small arms control efforts within RECSA member states, including a regional PSSM course with a Train-the-Trainers component.