By participating in the 2018 UNODC global data collection exercise on firearms trafficking, several countries identified gaps and challenges as regards the scope of firearms-related data collected at national level as well as the national data centralisation process.
To respond to the main challenges identified by authorities of Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire, the Global Firearms Programme (GFP) conducted, from 6 to 10 May 2019, technical visits to Abidjan and Ouagadougou. The main objectives of the mission were to:
On 7 May in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the GFP and the Commission Nationale de Lutte contre la Prolifération et la Circulation Illicite des Armes Légères et de Petit Calibre of Cote d'Ivoire (ComNat-ALPC) organised a working session on standard templates for recording firearms-related instances, a set of templates that the criminal justice apparatus can use to record firearms-relevant details and to increase the efficiency of firearms-related investigations. The working session was attended by experts of the ComNat ALPC, the national police, the gendarmerie, the ministry for forestry and sea, customs, as well as the ministry of justice. During the session, UNODC experts presented the standard templates as developed by UNODC and experts discussed concrete ways for their contextualization and subsequent adoption.
On 9 and 10 May, GFP joint Small Arms Survey for a mission to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to support national efforts in developing a system of national indicators on firearms. In a 1.5-day training, UNODC drew a link between national indicators and indicator 16.4.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, presented the IAFQ as corresponding data collection methodology at global level, and initiated discussions on standardised data collection in the context of criminal proceedings via standard templates for recording firearms-related instances. The training sessions were co-organized with the Commission nationale de lutte contre la prolifération des armes légères of Burkina Faso (CNLPAL) and were attended by 29 experts and representatives of the armed forces, the national police, the gendarmerie, the BCN-Interpol, the Haute Autorité de contrôle des importations d'armes et de leur utilization (HACIAU), the system IRAPOL (Identification, Rapprochement, Analyse de Police), as well as different governmental institutions producing statistics and analytical outputs.
The technical visits were carried out with the financial support of the European Union in the framework of the project " Supporting Global Data Collection and Analysis on Firearms Trafficking and Fostering Cooperation and Information Sharing, in particular Among Countries along Major Trafficking Routes to/from the EU".
For more information on the project:
Brochure on the GFP's Approach to SDG indicator 16.4.2
Other activities related to this project:
Monitoring arms flows and the Sustainable Development Goals: African meeting on data collection