UNIDIR, in partnership with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) and with support from the Government of Japan, brought together community members from Ghana’s Upper East Region for a three-day workshop in Navrongo from 18 to 20 August 2026. The initiative aimed at strengthening community-based approaches to prevent ammunition diversion and trafficking.
More than 20 participants from Sirigu and Manyoro, communities situated along the Ghana–Burkina Faso border, took part in the workshop. Participants included traditional leaders, volunteers who serve as WANEP community-based conflict early warning monitors, the Regional Peace Council, and local security actors – including the police and immigration.
Communities at the frontline of prevention
Communities living in border areas are often among the first to observe changes in local security dynamics. Their knowledge of local contexts and networks also provides important insights into emerging risks, including the movement and diversion of arms and ammunition.
Building on this local knowledge, the workshop strengthened this existing community-based early warning capacity by equipping participants with a better understanding of how ammunition diversion and trafficking can contribute to insecurity and how related warning signs can be identified, documented and reported.
The project we are commencing here today contributes particularly to the Global Framework for Through-Life Conventional Ammunition Managementobjectives relating to diversion prevention, accountability, monitoring and information sharing. Lessons gathered here are intended to become a model for community prevention across West Africa.
H.E. Hiroshi Yoshimoto, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Ghana
Building practical skills to identify ammunition diversion
Through interactive discussions and practical exercises, community monitors explored how to:
- understand arms and ammunition diversion dynamics in border communities;
- identify indicators of arms and ammunition diversion and trafficking; and
- strengthen practical skills for the safe and systematic collection, documentation and reporting of diversion-relevant information.
The movement of unauthorized arms and ammunition destabilizes local communities, fuels chieftaincy and land disputes… When our local citizens are empowered to detect early warning signs of ammunition diversion, they become active partners alongside our security forces rather than passive bystanders.
Hon. Faustina Abalu, Municipal Chief Executive of the Kassena Nankana Municipal Assembly
Connecting community actors and local authorities
Effective conflict early warning also depends on trusted channels for information-sharing and cooperation between communities and relevant authorities.
On the third day of the workshop, community monitors engaged in an open dialogue with representatives from the National Peace Council, Immigration Office and civil society. The discussion provided an opportunity to explore ways of strengthening trust, communication and collaboration between community actors and local security institutions.
A key outcome from the workshop was the development of community monitoring and information-sharing plans, providing a practical basis for participants to apply their learning within their respective communities.
Effective arms control begins with understanding the realities and risks communities face. By connecting community knowledge with formal early warning and security structures, we can strengthen prevention and reduce the risks associated with the diversion and misuse of arms and ammunition.
Fiifi Edu-Afful, Senior Researcher, Conventional Weapons Programme, UNIDIR
From insights to action
The three-day workshop forms part of the broader community-led arms control initiative of UNIDIR’s Conventional Weapons Programme, which seeks to integrate arms control measures into conflict prevention, peacebuilding and armed violence reduction. Insights shared by the participants will inform the development of a “menu of options” to support communities in managing weapons and ammunition, thereby preventing proliferation and misuse.