PRESS RELEASE

UNREC is organizing a capacity building workshop for civil society actors from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria for an effective mainstreaming of gender perspectives in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control processes in the Lake Chad region.

The workshop will be held from 18 to 20 December 2017 at l’hôtel Sarakawa in Lomé, Togo, and will gather participants from civil society organizations as well as a government representative from each of the countries concerned.

The workshop is the main activity of the project “Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives in Preventing the Acquisition of Arms and Ammunitions by Terrorists Groups in the Lake Chad Basin” which is part of the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions 1325, 2349 and 2370, as well as the General Assembly’s Resolutions on women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.

The project is funded by the Kingdom of Sweden and aims to increase the participation of women at all levels of decision making in conflict resolution as well as peace process and their contribution in matters relating to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control discussions in the Lake Chad Basin region. Generally, it will involve them in the achievement of point 16.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which aims to significantly reduce illicit financial flows and arms trafficking by 2030, strengthen recovery and restitution of stolen property and fight against all forms of organized crime.

For three (03) days, participants will be trained on several themes that emphasize on the relevance of greater respect for gender equity, and the relevance of the involvement of women in the fight against the proliferation of arms and ammunition for an effective fight against terrorism. Participants will also be equipped on the use of Information and communications technology (ICT) strategies for advocacy as well as project development skills. Post training, participants will serve as a relay in promoting education and awareness to reduce and eliminate the opportunities for traffickers to exploit vulnerable groups, including women and children.

For more information, please contact: UNREC, Tel: (+228) 22 53 50 00
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; www.unrec.org, www.facebook.unrec.org, www.twitter.com/odaunrec

PRESS RELEASE

The United Nations Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), in collaboration with the Nigerian national authorities, is organizing a series of workshops on "Validation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Administrative Procedures".
The activities will be held from 12 to 15 December 2017 at the Chelsea Hotel of Abuja.

These workshops are part of the project "Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM)" in the Sahel region financed by the European Union and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and take into account six Sahel countries namely: Burkina Faso, Chad Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria.

The PSSM project in the Sahel carries the support of the United Nations and the European Union to security and stability in the Sahel region in order to help the States to prevent the diversion and trafficking of small arms and light weapons (SALW) as well as their ammunition, by improving the physical security and stockpile management.

This second phase of the project comes after the first phase, which consisted of a process of presenting the PSSM concept to the stakeholders, raising awareness, examining the legislations and administrative procedures relating to PSSM and holding national consultations through workshops in the beneficiary countries. This initial phase of the project was completed by a regional conference which gathered stakeholders of beneficiary countries.
The current phase of the project has two components: the technical component which is the rehabilitation of the pilot sites for the storage of weapons and the capacity building component, which aims at developing operational and administrative standards adapted to the context of each beneficiary country.

For four days, national and international experts working in the security field will look at the issue in order to review the situation of the PSSM and the relevant issues related to the security sector in the Sahel region and especially in Nigeria. Also will be reviewed and validated SOPs and administrative procedures based on international standards such as the International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG).

The United Nations Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) organized two workshops to support the process of marking arms in the Lake Chad Basin Countries and prevent their diversion to terrorist groups, namely a sub-regional workshop on 6 to 7 November 2017 in N'Djamena, Chad, and a national workshop from 9 to 10 November 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria.

During these workshops, governments and civil society experts from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria were trained to use the International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG) as well as to consider best practices in firearms control in compliance with relevant legal instruments.

These workshops are part of activities to mark the final phase of the “Regional Support to the Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) Project». The project is part of the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014), which request countries, among others measures, to prevent the acquisition and diversion of weapons by terrorist groups as part of international as part of international efforts to address the threat posed by Foreign Terrorist Fighters(FTFs).

The CTITF project, developed by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and funded by France and Switzerland, aims to develop a comprehensive approach to address the issue of illicit flow of arms and ammunition, by providing technical assistance and supporting capacity building in four countries in the Lake Chad Basin region.

 - Opening statement by Dr. Jiaming Miao, Deputy to the Director, Political Affairs Officer at UNREC

The United Nations Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) has developed a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the safe and secure management and stockpiling of small arms, light weapons and ammunition for use by the security sector in of Chad. These SOPs were developed within the framework of the UNREC-led Physical Security and Stockpile Management –PSSM Sahel project are designed to help reduce the risk of diversion and illicit trade in small arms, light weapons and their ammunition in the region by supporting six countries in the Sahel, namely Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria to improve the security and management of state-held arms .

They are based on the International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the International Ammunitions Technical Guidelines (IATG). The workshops to validate the SOPs organized in collaboration with the Chad National SALW Focal Point were held from 24-27 October 2017 in ‎N'Djamena. They brought together more than 40. Senior national officials (policy makers and technical experts) to review the SOPs and to reflect on the current security situation and concerns in Chad.

The SOPs are expected to be adopted as Chad’s national standard operating procedures on physical security and stockpile management. The Regional Centre will continue to support the Chad authorities in rolling out the SOPs throughout the country.

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE

Le Centre Régional des Nations Unies pour la paix et le désarmement en Afrique (UNREC), en collaboration avec les autorités nationales tchadiennes, organise une série d’ateliers sur le thème : « Validation des Procédures standards opérationnelles (SOP) et procédures administratives ». Les activités se dérouleront du 24 au 27 octobre 2017 à l’Hôtel NOVOTEL la Tchadienne d’N’Djamena.

Ces ateliers s’inscrivent dans le cadre du projet « Sécurité physique et gestion des stocks (PSSM)» au Sahel cofinancé par l’Union Européenne et le Bureau des Nations Unies pour les affaires de désarmement (UNODA) et qui concerne six pays du sahel à savoir : le Burkina Faso, le Mali, la Mauritanie, le Niger, le Nigeria et le Tchad.  

Le projet PSSM au Sahel porte l’appui des Nations Unies et de l’Union Européenne à la sécurité et à la stabilité dans la région du Sahel afin d’aider les Etats de cette région à prévenir le détournement et le trafic des Armes légères et de petit calibre (ALPC), ainsi que de leurs munitions, en améliorant la sécurité physique et la gestion de leurs stocks.

Cette seconde phase du projet vient après la première qui a consisté en un processus de présentation du concept PSSM aux acteurs concernés, de sensibilisation, d’examen des législations et des procédures administratives relatives à ce PSSM et de la tenue de consultations nationales, sous forme d’atelier dans les pays bénéficiaires. Cette phase initiale du projet a été bouclée par une conférence régionale des parties prenantes des pays bénéficiaires.

La phase actuelle du projet a deux composantes : le volet technique que constitue la réhabilitation des sites pilote de stockages des armes, et le volet renforcement de capacités que vise à développer des standards opérationnels et administratifs adaptés au contexte de chaque pays bénéficiaire.

Pendant quatre jours, les experts nationaux et internationaux œuvrant dans le domaine sécuritaire se pencheront sur la thématique en vue de passer en revue la situation PSSM et les questions pertinentes relatives au secteur de la sécurité dans la région du Sahel et surtout  au Tchad. Il s’agira également d’examiner et valider les SOP et procédures administratives basées sur les normes et standards internationales que sont l’International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) et l’International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG).

Pour plus d'informations, veuillez contacter : Le Centre régional des Nations Unies pour la paix et le désarmement en Afrique (UNREC), Tel : (+228) 22 53 50 00 E-mail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; Web : www.unrec.org, www.facebook.unrec.org

The United Nations Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) has developed a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the safe and secure management and stockpiling of small arms, light weapons and ammunition for use by the security sector in of Burkina Faso. These SOPs were developed within the framework of the UNREC-led Physical Security and Stockpile Management –PSSM Sahel project are designed to help reduce the risk of diversion and illicit trade in small arms, light weapons and their ammunition. They are based on the International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the International Ammunitions Technical Guidelines (IATG), as well as on the standards adopted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The workshops to validate the SOPs were organized in collaboration with the Burkina Faso National Commission on small Arms and Light Weapons were held from 10-13 October 2017 in Ouagadougou. They brought together more than forty five senior national officials (political and technical experts) to review the SOPs and to reflect on the current security situation and concerns in Burkina Faso.

The SOPs are expected to be adopted as Burkina Faso’s national standard operating procedures on physical security and stockpile management. The Regional Centre will continue to support the Burkina Faso authorities in rolling out the SOPs throughout the country.

The UNREC Focus is the newsletter of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC). It covers news, projects, events, and publications related to UNREC’s activities.

UNREC Focus N°30, is available for download as a PDF file: English   French

Newsletter Archive

Click on the link below to subscribe to our newletter 

https://www.unrec.org/default/index.php/en/newsletter-signup/

UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs appoints Mr. Anselme N. Yabouri, as the new Director of UNREC. Mr.Yabouri took up his function on 1 September 2017.
Prior to this post, he was with several peacekeeping and peace-building missions in Eastern Europe and Africa in various capacities and most recently in Guinea Bissau as Head of Political Affairs of the United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office.