On 28 and 29 September 2021, the UNODC Global Firearms Programme (GFP) held a first online Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on development of Guidelines on investigation and prosecution of firearms trafficking cases (Guidelines). The EGM gathered more than 50 criminal justice practitioners from Africa, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Western Balkans, GFP international partners from law enforcement agencies and prosecution offices in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and the UK, as well as the representatives of FRONTEX and INTERPOL.
GFP drafted the Guidelines’ structure and subsequently organized a two-day EGM with a purpose of its fine-tuning, through discussion with criminal justice practitioners. The meeting participants had an opportunity to share the best practices from their respective regions and exchange the experiences with GFP and colleagues from around the world. The issue of illicit firearms trafficking and aspects of investigation, international cooperation, nexus with organized crime and terrorism, and prosecution were systematically considered through the prism of the Guidelines’ structure.
The main outcomes of the event were valuable comments of the criminal justice practitioners obtained during the meeting, alongside with written inputs, adjudicated court cases and standpoints related to investigation and prosecution of illicit firearms trafficking cases on the global level, which were generously shared with GFP.
In the forthcoming period, GFP will organize subsequent EGMs to discuss the draft substance of the Guidelines and proceed to its validation.
This activity is implemented with the financial support provided by Western Balkans SALW Control Multi-Partner Trust Fund, Governments of Germany and France, the EU and the UNOCT.
