SARCOM: Sub-regional small arms control mechanism - Sudan, Chad etc.

Since November 2012, BICC is supporting efforts to control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Sudan and its Western and Southern neighbours CAR, Chad, DRC, Libya and South Sudan, which signed a treating forming the Sub-regional Arms Control Mechanism (SARCOM). The project works at different levels: at the local level in West Darfur, BICC supports community-based efforts at SALW control and armed violence reduction through local committees of traditional leaders. At the national level, the project provides technical advise to the Sudan DDR Commission and the Ministry of the Interior, for example in the context of the development of a national actions plan for SALW control. On the regional level, BICC organizes training courses and other activities bringing together participants from different SARCOM member states to share experiences and develop joint initiatives. In addition to government partners, the project works closely with UNAMID, UNDP and the African Union. Currently two international BICC advisors are based in Khartoum, Sudan, supported by headquarters staff and additional consultants. For 2015, more project activities are planned in SARCOM states other than Sudan, while the start of a new DDR program in Darfur provides new opportunities at the sub-national level.