UNIDIR’s Conventional Weapons Programme, in partnership with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding and with support from the Government of Japan, is organizing a three-day capacity-building workshop in Ouangolodougou. The workshop will strengthen the practical capacity of community-level civil society monitors to understand ammunition diversion and trafficking, identify relevant indicators, document information safely and contribute to community-based early warning and prevention efforts.
Ouangolodougou, northern Côte d’Ivoire, sits within an important cross-border corridor connecting Côte d’Ivoire with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali. The movement of people, goods and informal commerce across this area is an important part of local livelihoods, but the same dynamics can also create opportunities for the movement of illicit arms and ammunition. For communities living along these routes, changes in trafficking patterns, unusual movements and emerging security concerns may become visible before they reach formal security and early warning systems.
Strengthening the ability of local actors to recognize and responsibly communicate these signals is therefore an important part of preventing ammunition diversion and trafficking. The challenge is not simply identifying risks, but ensuring that community observations can be appropriately assessed, documented and connected to relevant prevention and response mechanisms without placing community monitors or sources at unnecessary risk.
The training will place particular emphasis on the realities of border communities in northern Côte d’Ivoire and on strengthening constructive links between community monitors, civil society organizations and relevant authorities. It will also provide an opportunity to test and further refine UNIDIR’s emerging community-led arms control approach, including locally appropriate options for prevention, information sharing and response.
Agenda
Tuesday, 22 September 2026 | Day 1 | Understanding the local risk environment
Opening and participant expectations
Sessions
- A: Security dynamics and emerging threats in northern Côte d’Ivoire
- B: Understanding ammunition diversion and trafficking pathways
- C: Legal and policy frameworks for countering ammunition diversion and trafficking
- D: Diversion risks in border communities
Group exercise: Mapping local risks, actors and vulnerabilities
Wednesday, 23 September 2026 | Day 2 | Identifying and reporting diversion risks
Sessions
- E: Identifying indicators of ammunition diversion and trafficking
- F: Recording, verifying and documenting diversion indicators
- G: Assessing and prioritising diversion risks
Practical exercise: From community observation to incident report
Thursday 24 September 2026 | Day 3 | From early warning to prevention
Sessions
- H: From community observations to early warning
- I: Information sharing, coordination and engagement with authorities
- J: Community-based prevention and response options
Participatory exercise: Developing community monitoring and prevention plans
Closing, reflections and next steps
When and where
Tuesday 22 September to Thursday, 24 September 2026 | 09:00–16:30 GMT | Ouangolodougou
Participants
The event is invitation-only and will bring together community-level civil society monitors, peacebuilding actors, women and youth representatives, local community actors and other relevant stakeholders working in communities affected by cross-border security and trafficking risks in northern Côte d’Ivoire.
Language
This event will be held in English, with interpretation in French.
Further information
For any questions, please contact Fiifi Edu-Afful at fiifi.eduafful@un.org.
In partnership with
