On 2-3 April, UNIDIR in partnership with the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Cambodia convened a national capacity-building workshop in Phnom Penh focused on reporting under global instruments on conventional arms and ammunition control.
The workshop was designed to increase the awareness among national authorities on international conventional weapons instruments, strengthen their capacity to fulfill reporting commitments under them, and identify priority areas for enhanced international cooperation and assistance. It brought together some 40 government officials from Cambodia’s capital and border provinces involved in conventional arms and ammunition control and counter-trafficking efforts.
The workshop opened with a high-level address from H.E. Police General Por Phak, Secretary of State and Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) Cambodia Leader at the Ministry of Interior. He emphasized Cambodia’s commitment to strengthening national control systems and adapting to evolving global standards:
This [event] reflects our determination to fulfill our obligation and strengthen [our] national control system. At the same time, we are taking steps to align [with] emerging framework[s], including the Global Framework on Through-Life Conventional Ammunition Management, which require enhanced technical capacity and coordination. This workshop provides a timely opportunity to advance these efforts.
H.E. Pol. Gen. Por Phak, Secretary of State and SOMTC-Cambodia Leader, Ministry of Interior, Kingdom of Cambodia
Strengthening national reporting processes
The training focused on the institutionalization of effective inter-agency cooperation to collect and share the information needed for national reports on:
- The implementation of the UN Programme on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA) and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI)
- The implementation of the Global Framework on Through-Life Conventional Ammunition Management (GFA)
- International arms transfers for the UN Register on Conventional Weapons
UNIDIR experts Dr Paul Holtom, Head of Programme, and Joshua Angelo Bata, Associate Researcher, both with UNIDIR’s Conventional Arms Programme, delivered presentations and facilitated group exercises. A highlight of the training was the process of drafting a “national procedures document” to support the institutionalization of reporting in Cambodia. This exercise entailed identifying “what” data and information is needed, “who” holds it, and “when” to collect, share, and prepare reports for each instrument.
Enhancing the quality and use of reports
This training is timely as the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs has requested Member States to submit their national report on the implementation of the UN PoA and ITI in advance of the 2026 Biennial Meeting of States. In parallel, Member States are also requested to voluntarily submit their initial overview of the GFA implementation in 2026.
The two-day event, while national in scope, also included regional and global considerations. Workshop participants not only explored how to ensure high-quality national reports but also identified issues on which Cambodia could share effective practices in implementing these instruments, as well as international cooperation and assistance needs.
Reporting on the implementation of conventional arms and ammunition control instruments helps to build confidence between States, reduce tensions relating to authorized and illicit arms flows, and support efforts to foster peace, security, stability and sustainable development.
Dr Paul Holtom, Head of UNIDIR’s Conventional Arms Programme
Supporting Cambodia’s regional leadership
The training also supports Cambodia in its role as the voluntary lead shepherd of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) SOMTC Working Group on Arms Smuggling. The workshop helped to show how preparing national reports for the PoA and GFA helps to review national legal frameworks related to manufacturing, trafficking and use of arms, as well as for data collection regarding illicit arms manufacturing and trafficking, in accordance with the ASEAN Declaration on Combating Arms Smuggling.
Experts from Non-Violence International Southeast Asia, Mitzi Austero and Dr Fred Lubang also contributed to the training by sharing the national experiences of ASEAN Member States regarding inter-agency cooperation.
The workshop forms part of UNIDIR’s broader efforts to support States in strengthening national systems and processes for reporting on international conventional weapons instruments. Through its Conventional Arms Programme, UNIDIR continues to deliver tailored advice and training to help States build sustainable, nationally owned capacities for effective and transparent reporting.