UNODC Sub regional meeting on border cooperation and information exchange between Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali
On 23-27 September 2019, UNODC's Global Firearms Programme gathered representatives from Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali in order to discuss cross-border cooperation and information exchange. The activity had participants from various bodies including police, gendarmerie, customs as well as prosecutors. During the first day of the meeting, participants shared experiences, good practices and proposed common approaches to fight firearms trafficking, particularly at border crossings. During the following days, participants focused on the development of risk assessments, local risk indicators, profiling and selection of travellers and vehicles, and completed practical exercises on the thorough searches of vehicles and persons. During the last two days, experts from INTERPOL focused on the practical use of the Illicit Arms Records and tracing Management System (iARMS) and its utility for the tracing of firearms and starting investigations on firearms trafficking. The activity was jointly co-organized with the support of the National Commission from Côte d'Ivoire on Small Arms (SALW) and Light Weapons as well as INTERPOL.
The training was part of the GFP's project "Countering transnational illicit arms trafficking in the Sahel and Maghreb sub regions" made possible thanks to the contribution from the Governments of Germany and Italy, and it also paves the way for continued support under UNODC's EU funded programme to support illicit arms trafficking through the implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its Firearms Protocol.
UNODC
Vienna International Centre, Room E1245, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – UNODC
Tel.: (+43-1) 26060
E-mail: gfp@un.org
Point of Contact: Silvia de Pedro
Phone: (+43-1) 26060-83288
E-mail: silvia.depedro@un.org