UNODC Specialized practical training on the investigation and prosecution of firearms trafficking and related offences in Niger

05/11/2018
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09/11/2018
Activity description

The training was organized with the support from the National Commission for the Collection and Control of Illicit Arms of Niger (in French "Commission Nationale pour la Collecte et le Contrôle des Armes Illicites (CNCCAI))".
The training was aimed at providing practical skills to strengthen investigations linked to firearms trafficking and related crimes as well as to its prosecution. More than thirty representatives from different institutions benefited from the activity, including from Armed Forces, Gendarmerie, Police, the National Central Service agains Terrorism and Organized Crime, Customs and the Ministry of Justice, inter alia.
uring the week-long training, participants benefited from a series of lectures and practical exercises on different topics including firearm identification and tracing, intelligence gathering and investigations, and international cooperation, inter alia.  Practical exercises were particularly conducive to getting key messages across. Highlights from the training included interventions by FeliceCasson, Italian prosecutor, who shared his country's experience with the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-terrorism Directorate, which was useful in shaping the debate structures needed to support the fight against illicit trafficking. Meanwhile, Samna Cheibou, prosecutor from the Tribunal de Grande Instance Hors Classe de Niamey, focused on the experience of Niger in prosecuting firearms trafficking cases and the challenges of international cooperation. 

Project description

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.

Type of Activity
Institutional capacity-building
Legal or legislative assistance
Focus of Activity
Ammunition
Border controls
Enforcement
Import controls
International instruments
Inventory and stockpile management
Regional instruments
Small arms and light weapons (SALW) controls
Tracing
Transfer controls
Partners
Niger
Implementers
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Donors
Germany
Italy
Contact Details

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Firearms Programme

Vienna International Centre, Room E1245

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