Effective weapons and ammunition management (WAM) is fundamental to reducing the availability of illicit conventional arms, including small arms and light weapons (SALW), and ammunition, in circulation, to preventing their diversion to unauthorized users, and to mitigating the risk of unplanned explosions. WAM thus not only contributes to the prevention of armed conflicts and violence, including gender-based violence, but also contributes to peace, security, stability, and sustainable development.
By mid-2025, 18 States – including 14 in Africa – had assessed and made efforts to strengthen their national frameworks governing the management of weapons and ammunition through their life cycle using UNIDIR’s reference methodology for national WAM baseline assessments. This methodology identifies key functional areas for WAM. These range from establishing national coordination mechanisms, strategies and legal frameworks to strengthening controls over transfers, manage stockpiles, improvements to accountability through marking and record-keeping systems, dealing with illicit arms and ammunition, and final disposal.
This is the fourth annual update by UNIDIR to recognize the progress made to strengthen WAM policies and practices by those 14 African States. Information analysed for this update was collected primarily through meetings and interviews with national focal points and lead authorities, regional organizations, United Nations entities, and expert non-governmental organizations between mid-2024 and mid-2025. This annual WAM update provides an analysis of progress across the regional baseline of policy and practice, and highlights persistent, context-specific and emerging challenges. The update presents national examples of practices and activities that have helped overcome some of these challenges, as well as examples of progress that is being made in strengthening national WAM frameworks in often challenging environments.
The exchange of good practices and lessons learned in strengthening WAM policy and practice in Africa seeks to enhance the knowledge of States, regional organizations and international partners on ways to establish and implement comprehensive national and regional frameworks governing the full lifecycle of arms and ammunition.
UNIDIR encourages the community of States, regional organizations and relevant international partners to consult its WAM country insight and annual update series as a useful reference to support the planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation for future WAM projects.
Citation: Theò Bajon,“Weapons and Ammunition Management in Africa Insight: 2025 Update”, UNIDIR, Geneva, 2025. https://doi.org/10.37559/CAAP/25/WAM/10.