The illicit diversion and trafficking of ammunition is a major driver of insecurity, violent extremism, organized crime and armed conflict across West Africa. As instability spreads from the Sahel into coastal West Africa, northern Ghana and northern Côte d’Ivoire face growing risks due to porous borders, proximity to conflict-affected areas and regional transit routes. Local communities are often the first to detect diversion risks but lack the skills, tools and institutional linkages needed to translate these observations into effective prevention measures.
In response, UNIDIR’s Conventional Weapons Programme, in partnership with the West African Network for Peacebuilding and with support from the Government of Japan, is organizing a three-day capacity-building workshop for community-level civil society monitors in Navrongo, Ghana. This workshop will equip participants with the knowledge, skills and practical tools needed to identify, document and report ammunition diversion and trafficking risks while strengthening collaboration between communities, civil society organizations and relevant authorities. This will also serve as a pilot to iteratively develop, test and refine UNIDIR’s emerging community-led arms control framework and a progressively built menu of response options.
Agenda
Day 1: Understanding ammunition diversion and trafficking in West Africa
- Opening ceremony
- Session A: Regional security dynamics and emerging threats
- Session B: Understanding ammunition diversion and trafficking pathways
- Session C: Legal and policy frameworks for countering ammunition diversion and trafficking
- Session D: Diversion risks in border communities
- Group exercise: Mapping local risks, actors and trafficking vulnerabilities
Day 2: Community-based monitoring, documentation and reporting
- Session E: Identifying indicators of ammunition diversion and trafficking
- Session F: Recording, verifying and documenting diversion indicators: Community monitoring methodologies, data collection techniques, ethics, confidentiality and personal security
- Practical exercise: Incident documentation and reporting simulation
Day 3: Prevention, coordination and early warning
- Session G: From community observations to early warning: Information sharing, reporting pathways and coordination with national and regional mechanisms
- Session H: Working with security actors, border authorities and civil society: Building trust while maintaining community monitor roles
- Participatory exercise: Developing community monitoring and information-sharing plans
When and where
Tuesday, 18 August, to Thursday, 20 August 2026 | Navrongo, Ghana
Participants
The event is invitation-only. This workshop will bring together representatives of community-based organizations, peacebuilding actors, youth and women’s groups, local monitors, and other civil society stakeholders operating in high-risk border communities.
Further information
For any questions, please contact Fiifi Edu Afful at fiifi.eduafful@un.org and Mae Ballena at mae.ballena@un.org.
In partnership with
Sponsor
