From 16 to 18 April 2021, in the framework of the UNCCT-UNODC joint project “Addressing the connection between terrorism, organized crime and the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons in Central Asia”, the UNODC Global Firearms Programme, in close cooperation with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), and in partnership with the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), conducted a first virtual regional workshop on fostering judicial and law enforcement cooperation and information sharing among Central Asia states.

The three-day workshop focused on preventing and combatting the illicit trafficking of small-arms and light weapons and their illicit supply to terrorists through fostering judicial and law enforcement cooperation and information sharing. Approximately one hundred representatives from national institutions of Central Asian states as well as from regional and international organizations took part in the event.

Participants were introduced to relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, in particular UNSCR 1373 (2001) and UNSCR 2370 (2017), and the related 2015 Madrid Guiding Principles. The workshop served as a platform to explore the possibilities of sharing information and enhancing the regional cooperation in responding to the terrorism-arms-crime nexus in Central Asia. Moreover, during the workshop participants also shared some best practices regarding suspected terrorists/criminals involved in illicit arms trafficking, as well as national and regional responses to prevent firearms diversion to terrorists and discussed technical assistance support that the international organizations can provide in order to develop the national and regional capacities to counter illicit firearms trafficking.