15-16 September 2016
From 15 to 16 September 2016, UNODC organized the "Informal Expert Group Meeting on Data Collection and Analysis on Illicit Trafficking in Firearms, Taking into Account the UNODC Study on Firearms 2015 and Target 16.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals" in Vienna, Austria. The meeting was jointly organized by the Global Firearms Programme (Implementation Support Section/ Organized Crime Branch) and the Research and Trend Analysis Branch (Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs).
The objective of the meeting was to seek the support from experts from different regions and backgrounds on the implementation of UNODC's mandate to collect and analyse data and information of firearms trafficking and related themes, and facilitate the development of a solid methodology for ongoing and standardised data collection from Member States, enhance cooperation and coordination with regional and international partners, and facilitate the provision of related technical assistance to requesting countries.
Drawing from the experience of the UNODC Firearms Study and taking into account Target 16.4 of the Agenda for Sustainable Development and the proposed indicator 16.4.2, the meeting also created a platform to explore synergies and a way to harmonise both data collection efforts.The meeting was attended by a wide range of governmental representatives as well as national and international experts on firearms data collection, including representatives of Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Iraq, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Philippines, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as representatives of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the European Union, EUROPOL, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC). Represented non-governmental institutions and research institutes included Conflict Armament Research, the Flemish Peace Institute, the PeaceResearch Institute Oslo (PRIO), the Research Centre on Transnational Crime (Transcrime) and Small Arms Survey
Link to the EGM final report:
/documents/firearms-protocol/Publications/EGMreport-FINAL_September_2016.pdf