UNODC Global Firearms Programme Training workshop for magistrates and investigators on the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of firearms-related offenses in Burkina Faso

27/07/2021
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29/07/2021
Activity description

From 27 to 29 July 2021, the UNODC Global Firearms Programme (GFP) organised a workshop on the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of firearms-related offenses in Burkina Faso. The training was aimed at regional magistrates, the Judicial Pole in the fight against terrorism, investigators from the Antiterrorist Investigations Brigade and the Specialised Chambers of the Ouagadougou Court of Appeals. It focused on strengthening the technical and operational capacities of magistrates and investigators in order to gain specific skills to conduct to firearms trafficking parallel investigations, as well as on prosecution and adjudications. To benefit from the expertise of participants, the training focused on practical exercises that were developed and discussed in groups.

The training was facilitated by UNODC international experts, as well as by national trainers, including trainers who have benefited in the past from GFP’s training of trainers initiatives. The course enabled magistrates and investigators to better understand topics such as the international, regional and national legal frameworks on firearms; the particularities of firearms offenses; firearms identification and tracing; financial investigations into offenses related to firearms; international judicial and law enforcement cooperation as well as interagency cooperation; all in a context of respect for human rights.

Project description

This activity was framed within UNODC’s Sahel Programme, financed by the Government of Germany, and aimed to effectively combat drug trafficking, illicit trafficking, organized crime, terrorism and corruption in the region. The workshop was also part of the UNODC Global Firearms Programme integrated support to Burkina Faso, which has been ongoing since 2011 in close cooperation with the National Commission on Arms Control. 

Type of Activity
Institutional capacity-building
Technical material or financial assistance
Focus of Activity
Border controls
Enforcement
Import controls
International instruments
Inventory and stockpile management
Marking
Record-keeping
Regional cooperation
Regional instruments
Risk assessments
Small arms and light weapons (SALW) controls
Tracing
Transfer controls
Transit and trans-shipment controls
Partners
Burkina Faso
Implementers
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Donors
Germany
Contact Details
Contact Person
Simonetta Grassi, Chief of Firearms Trafficking Section E-mail: simonetta.grassi@un.org
Organization
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – UNODC, Firearms Trafficking Section, Organised Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch, Division for Treaty Affairs
Phone
(+43-1) 26060
Email