Cairo, Egypt - On 29 January 2015, CCCPA completed its second course in the series on ‘The Illicit Transfer of Small Arms & Light Weapons (SALW) in North Africa and the Sahel Regions’. The four-day training course saw 23 participants attending from 6 countries: Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger and Sudan. 

With participants coming from the Ministries of Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs, the course was designed to provide the appropriate training required to face today’s increasing challenges on national security. The participants had a chance to discuss the illicit flow of SALW in the region; using Libya as a case study, they were also exposed to national efforts to combat the issue. Topics covered included international and regional frameworks to regulate illicit SALW; the importance of stockpile management of weapons to combat proliferation; the impact of illicit SALW on gender and age; collection and destruction of illicit SALW and ammunition; and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR).

The first course was held from 12-15 January 2015 with 25 participants representing the Ministries of Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan.

Both training courses were led by CCCPA in coordination with experts from the Egyptian Ministries of Defense and Interior, while the first training drew upon expertise from SAS (Small Arms Survey), Geneva.
Related News