Supporting Small Arms and Light Weapons Control in Africa

This project takes on the current challenges in small arms and light weapons (SALW) control in Africa from the practical to the strategic level. bicc supports its partners in implementing the provisions set out in relevant SALW control regimes, thereby strengthening these regimes, countering the risk of diversion and unintended explosions and increasing community security. bicc`s embedded advisors in the African Union and ECOWAS and technical staff in Bonn provide advice and capacity-building to national, regional and international organisations. Methods include facilitating dialogue, supporting regional training of trainers in physical security and stockpile management (PSSM), harmonising regulatory frameworks and introducing new components as needed. bicc also conducts mixed-methods research to analyse the impact of environmental changes on conflict and the use of SALW. bicc continued to support PSSM through regional training courses for technical experts in the RECSA and ECOWAS regions. These courses create regional pools of trainers who can act as multipliers and train technical staff at local, national and regional levels. bicc also implemented a new training course on identifying and tracing weapons and continued to produce and disseminate updated SALW guides and infographics during its training activities and other events. A flagship of this project is an annual course in Germany, jointly implemented with the Bundeswehr Verification Centre which aims to enhance the awareness of executive-level representatives of African national and regional organisations on the importance of weapons and ammunition management in a wider SALW and ammunition control context.