Against this background, UNIDIR, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa organized in 2023 a regional seminar on preventing violent extremism (PVE) and weapons and ammunition management (WAM) in West Africa. The seminar called for adopting an integrated approach to both issues and recommended a study to support this paradigm shift.

This empirical study examines an integrated approach to address the illicit supply of weapons and the root causes of violence by analyzing intersections between PVE and WAM across policy frameworks, institutions and operational practices. It identifies existing good examples of integrating PVE and WAM and explores promising, context-specific opportunities in the region. The study derives practical steps to support States, regional and continental organizations, UN entities and other stakeholders in operationalizing such an integrated approach in West Africa and beyond.

The post Integrating the Prevention of Violent Extremism and Illicit Weapons Proliferation in West Africa: A Way Forward first appeared on UNIDIR.

It explores how a data-driven approach can better enable States and their armed forces to identify risks to civilians during the planning and execution of such operations and to manage those risks more effectively. The report also considers how data can inform the review and development of policies and operational practices, as well as supporting functions such as training, doctrine, capabilities, processes and leadership structures.

Drawing on good practices and lessons learned, the report provides practical considerations to guide a meaningful and effective implementation of the Declaration, and concludes with recommendations on leveraging data to achieve its ultimate goal: strengthening the protection of civilians and reducing harm from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

The post Leveraging Data to Reduce Civilian Harm during Military Operations in Populated Areas: Practical, Data-Driven Steps to Implement the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas first appeared on UNIDIR.

Conflict early-warning efforts need access to all relevant data that can improve their performance. Data on flows of conventional arms and ammunition could be relevant for such efforts: weapons flows into unstable regions have long been considered as a possible signal of a future outbreak, escalation or relapse of armed conflict. However, arms flow data is only used sporadically for early warning, and its potential remains underexplored.

To address this gap, the UNIDIR, Conflict Armament Research (CAR), the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and the Violence and Impacts Early-Warning System (VIEWS) launched the initiative ‘Building Bridges and Incubating Ideas for Stronger Conflict Prevention: Harnessing Arms and Ammunition Flow Data for Early Warning’ to foster use of arms flow data for more effective early warning.

This insight distills the key takeaways and pathways for action that emerged from expert exchanges within this joint initiative.

Visit the Arms Flows and Early Warning Dashboard for a mapping of available arms and ammunition flows data, as well as early warning initiatives.

The post Pathways to Action: Harnessing Arms Flow Data for Conflict Early Warning first appeared on UNIDIR.

If men are at the centre of the global armed violence epidemic, it clearly has something to do with their gender. The report explains that when frustrated young men in contexts of persistent poverty gain easy access to small arms and ammunition, it creates a significant risk of an epidemic of lethal violence. This prompts the question: What work is being undertaken with men using a masculinities focus to prevent armed violence? The answer, in short, is none. Efforts to reduce armed violence that do not consider masculinities will only have a limited effect.

The report suggests that greater debate about this issue is required and that the United Nations can lead progress by developing initiatives in collaboration with Member States, academia and civil society partners. However, to achieve this goal, greater advocacy, political support and funding are vital. 

The post No Man’s Land? Focusing on Men to Reduce Global Armed Violence first appeared on UNIDIR.

Based on research conducted in Nigeria between July 2023 and March 2024, the report provides an overview of four VSOs in Borno: the Borno State Hunters Association, the CJTF, the Kesh Kesh vigilante group and the Vigilante Group of Nigeria. It  investigates the firearms these groups possess and how they acquire them, while offering insights into the emerging good practice for the oversight and management of VSOs’ conventional arms and ammunition.

The report aims to shed light on state approaches to arming community security entities, offering key questions for policymakers and program developers on how these efforts impact community protection and safety as well as broader state security.

The post Exploring the Acquisition and Management of Arms among Volunteer Security Outfits in Nigeria’s Borno State first appeared on UNIDIR.

The workshop brought together policymakers and practitioners from across the peace and security, humanitarian and development fields to explore how to enhance data collection efforts on the indirect or reverberating effects of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA). It promoted discussions on how the collection and sharing of data on these effects can contribute to the implementation of the EWIPA Political Declaration, as well as on how the Declaration can be leveraged to strengthen efforts to document and address emerging patterns of civilian harm.

This report summarizes the key findings from the workshop’s discussions. It identifies opportunities for improved collaboration among relevant stakeholders and provides recommendations for advancing the implementation of the Declaration’s commitments on data collection on indirect or reverberating effects.

The post Understanding Civilian Harm from the Indirect or Reverberating Effects of the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas: Strengthening Data Collection to Implement the Political Declaration first appeared on UNIDIR.

The analysis in the report is based on a data set of incidents of UAS use by NSAGs in Africa in the period January 2018–June 2023.

The post The Use of Uncrewed Aerial Systems by Non-State Armed Groups: Exploring Trends in Africa first appeared on UNIDIR.

The United Nations needs to adapt to ensure the safety of peacekeepers and their ability to implement mandated tasks. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) illustrates both the possible dangers to current missions as well as lessons learned in efforts to mitigate the impact of illicit arms.

This brief reviews MINUSMA’s experiences in these regards. It argues that greater efforts should be made to exploit the potential role of peacekeeping operations in monitoring and tracing illicit arms flows to enhance situational awareness and the fight against impunity.

The post Peacekeeping in Hostile Environments: The Impact of Illicit Arms on MINUSMA first appeared on UNIDIR.

In response to this knowledge gap, this issue brief – produced in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – explores the multiple connections between illicit arms, organized crime and armed conflict in relation to (1) the source of illicit arms supply, (2) the process of illicit arms acquisition, and (3) shifts in the dynamics of armed conflict and organized crime. It also provides key considerations to help inform responses to address these interrelated challenges by integrating conventional arms control measures, conflict prevention strategies, and criminal justice responses.

Citation: Lauren Pinson (2022) “Addressing the Linkages Between Illicit Arms, Organized Crime and Armed Conflict”, UNIDIR and UNODC, Geneva, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.37559/CAAP/22/PACAV/10

The post Addressing the Linkages Between Illicit Arms, Organized Crime and Armed Conflict first appeared on UNIDIR.

Based on an analysis of 2,185 individual pieces of whole round and cartridge cases recovered and recorded in connection with firearms-related incidents between 2010 and 2020, this factsheet presents key points including:

• 23% of ammunition in the past 10 years was manufactured domestically in the UK
• a peak in seizure cases was observed in 2013 and 2018
• the most common manufacturers included Fiocchi, Sellier & Bellot and Umarex, which together made up 39% of total ammunition collected between 2010-2020

TRANSLATIONS

Français: Impact initial du profilage des munitions d’armes légères dans les contextes de violence armée : Bedfordshire, Royaume-Uni

Español: Impacto inicial de la elaboración de perfiles de municiones de armas pequeñas en el contexto de violencia armada: Bedfordshire, Reino Unido

The post Initial Impact of Profiling Small Arms Ammunition in Armed Violence Settings: Bedfordshire, UK, Case Study first appeared on UNIDIR.

UNIDIR has identified ten key functional areas for WAM, including a national coordination mechanism and a national legal and regulatory framework, as well as measures to be taken for transfer controls, stockpile management, marking, record-keeping, dealing with illicit arms and ammunition, and disposal.

This is the first annual update by UNIDIR to recognize the progress made by nine African states to strengthen their WAM policy and practice after undertaking a WAM baseline assessment using UNIDIR’s methodology. The report presents national examples of progress in addressing gaps
and deficiencies in the ten key functional areas for WAM.

TRANSLATIONS

Français: Aperçu de la gestion des armes et des munitions en Afrique: rapport sur l’état d’avancement 2022 (traduction de Theò Bajon)

The post Weapons and Ammunition Management in Africa Insight: 2022 Update first appeared on UNIDIR.

This FAQ presents brief descriptions of key terms and offers an overview of work done by the Programme to unpack and understand the “reverberating effects” from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

TRANSLATIONS

Español: Preguntas frecuentes sobre el uso de armas explosivas en zonas pobladas

Français: FAQ sur l’Utilisation des Armes Explosives dans les Zones Peuplées

Português: Perguntas frequentes sobre o uso de armas explosivas em áreas povoadas

The post FAQ on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas first appeared on UNIDIR.

In March 2022, the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and UNIDIR launched the “Technical guidelines to facilitate the implementation of Security Council resolution 2370 (2017) and related international standards and good practices on preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons”. The technical guidelines have been developed under a joint project implemented by CTED, working on behalf of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact Working Group on Border Management and Law Enforcement relating to Counter-Terrorism, funded by UNCCT and co-implemented by UNCCT and UNIDIR.

With the adoption by the Security Council of its resolution 2370 (2017), the Council reaffirmed its previous decision in resolution 1373 (2001) that all States should refrain from providing any form of support to those involved in terrorist acts, including by eliminating the supply of weapons – including SALW, military equipment, UAS and their components, and IED components – to those involved in terrorist acts. The Security Council urged Member States to act cooperatively to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons and called upon them to become party to related international and regional instruments. Resolution 2370 is the first Security Council resolution specifically dedicated to preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons.

The technical guidelines have been developed as part of a broader project that seeks to facilitate and support the implementation of resolution 2370 (2017), relevant subsequent resolutions, good practices, and international standards. The technical guidelines aim at contributing to the enhancement of Member States’ legislative, strategic, and operational capacities to prevent, detect and counter the acquisition, illicit trafficking and use of different weapons, systems, and components.

These technical guidelines are non-binding and should be considered living working reference document. They are also expected to form a basis for dialogue at different levels, including among regional and national stakeholders in their efforts to assess, develop, review, and refine regional and national measures to prevent terrorist acquisition of weapons. Following roll-out, application and use, the document will be subject to modifications, revisions, and updates, based on feedback received from States and the technical communities of practice.

Support from UNIDIR’s core funders provides the foundation for all of the Institute’s activities. UNIDIR’s work in this area has been supported by the Government of Germany.

All enquiries and feedback concerning the Technical Guidelines can be addressed to: Ms. Anne-Maria Seesmaa/CTED seesmaa@un.org, Mr. Aldan Serikbay/UNCCT aldan.serikbay@un.org and Mr. Hardy Giezendanner/UNIDIR giezendanner@un.org

Citation: Compiled by the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTED), UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and UNIDIR (2022) “Technical Guidelines to Facilitate the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 2370 (2017) and Related International Standards and Good Practices on Preventing Terrorists from Acquiring Weapons”. https://doi.org/10.37559/CAAP/22/PACAV/03

Sponsor Organizations: Government of Germany, CTED and UNOCT.

The post Technical Guidelines to Facilitate the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 2370 (2017) and Related International Standards and Good Practices on Preventing Terrorists from Acquiring Weapons first appeared on UNIDIR.

These indicators can be used to capture, measure, compare and understand how the use of EWIPA impacts the survival, well-being and dignity of civilians in ways that are often overlooked or underestimated.

These indicators are designed to help researchers document the broad range and scale of impacts and to enable identification of general and foreseeable patterns of harm resulting from the use of EWIPA, thereby contributing to the growing evidence base.

It is expected that such data will help inform and renew the understanding of parties to conflict and all stakeholders (including humanitarian assistance providers) of the reasonably foreseeable reverberating effects, enabling them to develop, design or update appropriate doctrine, practice, strategy, tactics and programmatic responses in order to better protect civilians in conflict situations.

For a recording of the launch of this publication featuring the authors and an expert panel, please visit the UNIDIR YouTube Channel.

Teaser: Indicators for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Food Security, Environmental Degradation, and Economic Opportunities

Sponsor Organizations: Federal Republic of Germany

Citation: Alfredo Malaret Baldo and Francesca Batault (2022) “Second Menu of Indicators to Measure the Reverberating Effects on Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas”, UNIDIR, Geneva, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.37559/CAAP/22/PACAV/02

The post Second Menu of Indicators to Measure the Reverberating Effects on Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas first appeared on UNIDIR.

Produced in conjunction with the International Peace Institute, this brief provides an analysis of the actual, and potential, contribution of conventional arms control and related activities to POC within the context of United Nations peace operations – both peacekeeping operations and special political missions (SPM). There has been limited research conducted on this topic and it has been addressed in only a cursory manner in relevant policies, guidelines, and strategies.

This work therefore attempts to demonstrate the existing linkages between these two mandated tasks, as well as to pinpoint some of the barriers and challenges to why conventional arms control has not featured more fully within the POC efforts of missions. It then identifies the relevant entry points based on concrete examples of how arms control-related activities can be better leveraged by United Nations peace operations to ensure a more effective protection of civilians.

Sponsor Organizations: Donors: Governments of Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom / Partners: International Peace Institute (IPI)

Citation: Damian Lilly and Bárbara Moraes Figuerado (2022) “Enhancing the Protection of Civilians through Conventional Arms Control: Challenges and Opportunities for United Nations Peace Operations”, UNIDIR and International Peace Institute, Geneva, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.37559/CAAP/22/PACAV/01

The post Enhancing the Protection of Civilians through Conventional Arms Control: Challenges and Opportunities for United Nations Peace Operations first appeared on UNIDIR.

Sponsor Organizations: Governments of Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom

Citation: Simon Yazgi and Erica Mumford (2021) “The Arms-Related Risk Analysis Toolkit: Practical Guidance for Integrating Conventional Arms-Related Risks into Conflict Analysis and Prevention”, UNIDIR, Geneva, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.37559/CAAP/21/PACAV/04

The post The Arms-Related Risk Analysis Toolkit: Practical Guidance for Integrating Conventional Arms-Related Risks into Conflict Analysis and Prevention first appeared on UNIDIR.

Sponsor Organizations: Germany

Citation: Christina Wille and Alfredo Malaret Baldo (2021) “Menu of Indicators to Measure the Reverberating Effects on Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas”, UNIDIR, Geneva, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.37559/CAAP/21/PACAV/01

The post Menu of Indicators to Measure the Reverberating Effects on Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas first appeared on UNIDIR.

The report will be updated as more survey data is collected, not only from community leaders, but also from community members and even former associates of Boko Haram and other armed groups.

This report provides an overview of climate-conflict links in Nigeria, followed by emerging, related findings from the MEAC community leaders survey, and ends with the examination of a few key policy and programmatic implications of these findings.

This publication can be downloaded from the UNU-CPR website

Citation: Jessica Caus (2021) “Climate-Driven Recruitment into Armed Groups in Nigeria”, MEAC Findings Report 1, United Nations University, New York.

The post Climate-Driven Recruitment into Armed Groups in Nigeria (Findings Report 1) first appeared on UNIDIR.

This Handbook offers users a step-by-step how-to guide for ammunition profiling by generating an overview of the small arms ammunition that have been diverted, trafficked, and/or misused in particular urban environments. This Handbook will help practitioners build an evidence base to inform downstream policies aimed at curbing the flow of ammunition proliferation reaching unauthorized hands and/or unauthorized use in urban environments. Afterwards, the evidence and lessons learned from urban environments can be channelled upstream to inform multilateral and global processes. Therefore, this Handbook presents itself as a product with two distinct contributions to the field in that it: (i) codifies a methodology for any interested user to utilize it and yield results in a standardized manner and (ii) presents the ammunition profiling methodology with an armed violence in urban environments lens, for replication studies to follow suit across different cities.

Find the details and recording of the launch event of the Handbook here.

TRANSLATIONS

• Español: Manual para la Elaboración de Perfiles de Municiones de Armas Pequeñas

Sponsor Organizations: Donor: Government of Germany

The post Handbook to Profile Small Arms Ammunition in Armed Violence Settings first appeared on UNIDIR.

Ironically, the issue of a standing UN force has its beginnings with the origins of the United Nations itself. Chapter VII of the UN Charter outlines the obligations of Member States regarding the provision of armed forces, assistance and facilities for maintaining international peace and security, and describes the necessary institutions to manage such a force. The complexity of the issue is evident in the fact that over fifty years later, the peacekeeping debate continues and a standing force has yet to emerge.

For this issue of Disarmament Forum we offer an in-depth examination of the difficult questions surrounding peacekeeping: the historical basis for a standing United Nations force, the effectiveness of burden sharing and regional efforts, verification of peacekeeping, civil-military relations and the privatization of peacekeeping/peace enforcement.

Citation: Kerstin Vignard (ed.) (2000). “Disarmament Forum: Peacekeeping: Evolution or Extinction?”, UNIDIR, Geneva.

Disponible aussi en français.

Content

• Editor’s note, Kerstin Vignard
• Special Comment, Under-Secretary-General Ibrahim Gambari
• International Peacekeeping, Disarmament and International Force: A Circular Proposition, Stephen Kinloch Pichat
• Keeping the Peace in Africa, Eric g. Berman & Katie E. Sams
• Partners Apart: Managing Civil-Military Co-operation in Humanitarian Interventions, Catriona Gourlay
• The Verification and Monitoring of Peace Accords, Jane Boulden
• The Privatization of Peacekeeping: Prospects and Realities, Damian Lilly
• Summing up Disarmament and Conversion Events, the Bonn International Center for Conversion
• Building confidence in a fissile materials production moratorium using commercial satellite imagery, Hui Zhang & Frank von Hippel

The post Disarmament Forum: Peacekeeping: Evolution or Extinction? first appeared on UNIDIR.

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 Management objectives 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.

The post Strengthening community capacity to prevent ammunition diversion first appeared on UNIDIR.

Over six days, a team composed of diverse representatives (from UNIDIR, Interpeace, the Small Arms Survey, the Regional Centre for Small Arms Control, Kenya’s Ministry of Interior, National Defence University-Kenya, NEPCOH and local county authorities) conducted focus group discussions, stakeholder consultations, and community meetings. These took place in both urban centres and remote hotspots in Samburu, Baringo, Turkana, Elgeyo Marakwet, and West Pokot, where the State’s reach is limited and the presence of illicit weapons is not.

The team interacted with county commissioners, peace directors, National Police Service officers, elders, youth, women, and religious leaders. The findings were highly illuminating. In the Suguta Valley, one elder told the delegation:

Guns have brought more harm than good to our families. Nearly every home has lost someone.

Across all five counties, communities consistently identified three conditions for sustainable disarmament:

• simultaneous action across borders;
• credible post-surrender security guarantees; and
• concrete links between arms control and livelihood support.

Five counties, one picture

Meetings in Maralal, Samburu County, painted a detailed picture of the local security landscape, highlighting the linkages between livestock wealth, raiding and firearms possession. For households living more than ten kilometres from urban centres, guns are considered essential for protection.

A focus group with elders, youth, teachers, religious leaders, and local administrators in Suguta Valley in Turkana County’s Kapedo area highlighted:

• the widespread presence of firearms among young people;
• the uneven effects of Operation Maliza Uhalifu; and
• the urgent need for simultaneous disarmament across neighbouring communities.

The message was clear: unilateral community disarmament is perceived not as a pre-condition for peace, but as exposure and vulnerability.

In Baringo County, community members in Tangulbei and Kolowa in the Kerio Valley traced the roots of arms proliferation to cross-border inflows from Uganda during the 1970s and 1990s. They also reflected on recent voluntary arms surrenders, which followed the arrest of several high-profile individuals in neighbouring areas. That momentum reportedly contributed to the surrender of more than 100 weapons locally, reinforcing an important lesson from the field: accountability at higher levels can create space for meaningful community action.

In West Pokot County, County Commissioner, D.N. Saruni noted that 99% of recovered firearms had been voluntarily surrendered. This is a striking figure that underscores the potential of trust-based approaches to arms control. Community dialogues in Sigor and Orwa-Calabash brought together Pokot and Marakwet participants to share lessons learned and impact from joint farming initiatives between youth from both communities to build trust and cooperation.

What comes next

This first CLAC mission will directly inform the development of UNIDIR’s broader effort to develop a practical “menu of options” for use in community-led arms control initiatives across the globe. UNIDIR’s role in this process reflects its wider commitment to evidence- based and people-centred approaches to conventional arms control connecting global policy discussions to the everyday realities faced by communities most affected by insecurity and armed violence.

The post Kenyan communities break silence on small arms and insecurity first appeared on UNIDIR.

In 2025, one in six people were exposed to armed conflict, and firearms account for nearly half of all violent deaths worldwide. In regions affected by armed extremism, armed groups cause the majority of civilian fatalities. Where illicit SALW proliferate, such groups flourish and can sustain violence for longer, driving demand for more weapons. This is a vicious cycle.

Policy responses have struggled to address this complexity. Global SALW control debates have for decades prioritized measures to curb illicit weapon supply, with little attention paid to why people take up arms. Tackling armed violence, notably violent extremism, tends to be over-securitized and reactive, addressing symptoms more than causes. In recent years, while necessary, neither approach has proofed to be sufficient.

In 2024, the Pact for the Future brought prevention back to the fore, calling on Member States to address the root causes of violence. That same year, the fourth Review Conference of the Programme of Action on Small Arms (RevCon4) pushed States to examine what drives weapons demand, not just supply. These were promising signs of a paradigm shift.

But how can these commitments be implemented locally and lessons from the field be fed back into global policymaking? As States approach the ninth Biennial Meeting of States under the Programme of Action (BMS9) and the ninth review of the UN Counter-Terrorism Strategy in June this year, West Africa shows global policymakers what integrating prevention and SALW control can practically look like and how the puzzle could be pieced together

West Africa spotlight

Driven by the rise of armed groups and their continuing spread from the Sahel to the littoral States of the Gulf of Guinea, armed violence has intensified across West Africa. It hosts four of the world’s most terrorism-affected countries and an estimated 11 million civilian-held firearms, the highest concentration on the continent.

The West African evidence is clear: fragmented and over-securitized approaches fall short in preventing armed violence sustainably.

At a 2023 regional workshop by UNIDIR and partners, West African stakeholders called for an integrated approach to tackle both the root causes of violence and the weapons (primarily SALW) that fuel it. This echoes the New Agenda for Peace’s appeal for comprehensive and more prevention-focused approaches to these issues. To support this change, a recent study by UNIDIR, the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs documents what joined-up efforts look like in practice.

What comes out clearly is that demand for arms and engagement in violent extremism share common drivers – which mainly affect communities in border areas – and these include:

• Weak state presence,
• Economic hardship,
• Distrust in public institutions
• Absence of effective state security.

This convergence is a key, often overlooked entry point for joining up armed violence prevention and SALW control. Translating integrated approaches into practice hinges on three mutually reinforcing dimensions: policy, institutions, and operations.

Integration in practice to learn from

At the policy level, West African practices show that developing and reviewing strategic frameworks are important for integrating approaches. Benin’s Draft National SALW Action Plan (2020-2024) is a good example, addressing both weapons demand and supply.

National frameworks only deliver if they are grounded in local realities and co-created by those who live them. Community leaders, women’s groups, youth, and local authorities must therefore be partners in the design and implementation of plans to address violence and weapons proliferation.

For instance, Mali illustrates this in its upcoming SALW National Action Plan (2026–2030) – which was co-developed through inclusive dialogue with customary and religious leaders.

Institutions must follow. Integrated frameworks mean little if bodies responsible for delivery operate in silos. Coordination of government mechanisms for violence prevention and SALW control goes a long way, as witnessed in Nigeria. The Office of the National Security Adviser houses both the National Centre for the Control of SALW and the National Counter Terrorism Centre, easing interaction. Representation in respective governance boards could also play a bridging, still underutilized role. Inclusive representation has – here too – proved useful for integrated thinking. In Sierra Leone for instance, the Advisory Committee of the National SALW Commission brings various government agencies together with local government, civil society, paramount chiefs, and youth and women’s representatives, as part of a whole-of-society approach.

In operations, integrated activities concretize most impactfully at the community level. In Côte d’Ivoire, the SALW Commission engages dialogue with communities not just to sensitize to the risks of weapons proliferation, but also to non-violence and the prevention of radicalization, often with traditional leaders and women’s groups as key players. Likewise, the voluntary surrender of SALW has proved most sustainable when combined with the provision of socio-economic alternatives addressing drivers for weapons demand, as seen in Guinea-Bissau and Côte d’Ivoire.

Looking ahead, community-led arms control holds particular untapped potential. It can build trust and local agency to reduce armed violence at their roots, with peace or civil-military committees as entry points for dialogue.

When communities are involved and see tangible benefits, prevention becomes a collective engagement with more sustainable outcome.

Advancing integrated approaches can come with teething troubles, including:

• The lack of shared understanding and space for exchange among stakeholders,
• Conflicting responsibilities,
• Limited political will and ownership,
• Capacity constraints,
• And many others.

West African practices demonstrate what potential is unlocked when clearing some of these hurdles.

The puzzle needs all its pieces

Policy shapes implementation and implementation must shape policy. In 2024, States made promising commitments at RevCon4 and in the Pact for the Future toward holistic, prevention-centred approaches to armed violence. The recent study by UNIDIR and partners, alongside initiatives in West Africa like the UN Development Programme – Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre’s work on conflict prevention and weapons and ammunition management,  as well as the Saving-Lives Entity’s support to armed violence reduction in Ghana and Mali, demonstrate how to put these commitments into practice. The missing piece is to feed lessons from these efforts back into global frameworks to scale what works, adapted to context. The 2026 meetings should close the loop.

BMS9 is an opportunity for considering good practices to deliver on RevCon4 commitments. It could emphasize that joined-up responses to both issues deliver best when done across all dimensions: from policymaking to institutional cooperation and implementation. It could also go further, affirming the role of genuine multi-stakeholder processes in making joined-up efforts effective and sustainable – with communities and dialogue as central levers.

The ninth review of the UN Counter-Terrorism Strategy is expected to build on the UN Secretary-General’s call to avoid siloing the prevention and countering of extremism. The eighth review addressed SALW control mainly in terms of countering supply to terrorist groups. The ninth review could recognize that SALW control also has a preventive dimension in reducing demand for weapons, thereby helping to address local drivers of extremism.

The evidence is there. The entry points are clear. The policy windows are open. Whether 2026 marks an upscale in policymaking – or a missed beat – is now the question on the table.

Vedika Pillai was a Graduate Professional with UNIDIR’s Conventional Weapons Programme. She holds a Master’s in International Development from the Geneva Graduate Institute, and degrees in sociology, international relations, and peacebuilding from Lady Shri Ram College and Sciences Po Paris. She has worked across research and policy roles with UNICEF, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and Legal Action Worldwide. Her published work includes research on social protection in Ethiopia with UNICEF Innocenti, and on rural livelihoods, conflict and gender in South Asia.

Ursign Hofmann is a Senior Researcher with UNIDIR’s Conventional Weapons Programme. Previously, he served as a Programme Officer at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, as a Policy Advisor at the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and as a Research Assistant at the Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations System. He holds a Master’s degree in History and French and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from the University of Lausanne.

The post Time to piece together prevention and small arms control first appeared on UNIDIR.