The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) and The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) sub regional platform for West and Central Africa are organising a symposium for the adoption of an Action Plan to fight against the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Sahel region. The activities will take place from 6 to 7 September 2017 at Bolton White Hotel in Abuja - Nigeria.

As the last step of the regional project «Assessment Survey on Small Arms in the Sahel Region and Neighboring Countries», the symposium is part of the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) and the African Union Strategy on the Control of Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons. It was implemented in the following 9 countries in the Sahel region and in neighboring countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.

The Sahel countries remain vulnerable to the destabilizing effects of the insecurity resulting from armed conflicts, terrorist activities and others various types of illicit trafficking. The recent crises in the region have deepened this vulnerability with as consequences looting of state arsenals and increasing in the proliferation of illicit small arms in the region.

In support to national effort for fighting against the proliferation and illicit trafficking of SALW, UNREC and UNDP implemented this evaluation project which covered the legal aspects, political, economic, security, social, environmental and cultural dimension which allows a better understanding of the scope of the phenomenon.

The project was carried out in three phases. The preliminary documentary research has established a database of national mechanisms for fighting against the proliferation of SALW. This was followed by consultations with the stakeholders involved in the fight against the proliferation of SALW in the nine countries. This symposium, which is the third phase, marks the end of the project through the validation of the final report and the adoption of a Regional Action Plan on SALW control in the concerned region.  

For two days, participants will set up a general assessment of all aspects of the project, analyze the results of the country-by-country survey, develop a common strategy to fight against the proliferation of SALW in the Sahel and formulate Recommendations for the implementation of the regional action plan on SALW control.

For more information, please contact: UNREC, Tel: (+ 228) 22535000 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.unrec.org, and UNDP Sahel Programme -UNDP Sub-regional Platform for West and Central Africa. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.