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Erlangen Initiative: Fostering Collaboration Between Academia and Government Regulators for UNSCR 1540 Implementation
From 8 to 9 November, the Government of Germany in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), hosted the inaugural Erlangen Conference in Nuremberg, Germany. The event brought together over 80 representatives from regulatory authorities, export regimes, and academia to explore ways to strengthen the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004). Adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council in April 2004, UNSCR 1540 places obligations on States to prevent non-state actors from attempting to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess…
UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa participates in the West African Region Working Group of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum
From 5 to 7 December, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) participated in the West African Region Working Group of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF). The regional meeting [MC1] , supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), was held in Banjul, The Gambia. Attendees included senior officials from West African Member States and associated Sahel States, including Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Global Counter Terrorism Forum Member States included …
Annual Coordination Meeting of the National Commissions on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NATCOMs) held in Dakar
Figure 1/Meeting in session From 13 to 15 December 2023, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) successfully convened the Annual Coordination Meeting of National Commissions on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NATCOMs) in Dakar, Senegal. This gathering was prompted by the escalating menace of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), youth-related gun violence, and the growing specter of violent extremism and terrorism within the ECOWAS Region. The primary objectives of the meeting were to facilitate the exchange of national experiences and to chart the course for the…
Integrating gender-responsive actions into small arms control measures: A review of progress made by Burundi, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone
On 11 December, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) launched the first webinar in a series on “Taking stock of gender-responsive actions into small arms control measures.” The webinar, organized in support of the Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA), was attended by officials of Burundi, Cameroon and Sierra Leone, [MC1] who have taken part in the project’s implementation. The[MC1] purpose of the webinar was to take…
Office for Disarmament Affairs and UN Institute for Disarmament Research host event on Directed Energy Weapons
On 15 November, the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) hosted a side event on the margins of the 2023 Annual Meeting of the High Contracting Parties of the Convention on Conventional weapons in Geneva. The subject of the panel was directed energy weapons (DEWs) and the implications of their use under international law and was organized with the financial support of the European Union, under the aegis of the project in support of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). Juliana Helou van der Berg,…
UNSGM experts join training course on Safe and Secure Approaches to Field Environments (SSAFE)
UNSGM experts join training course on Safe and Secure Approaches to Field Environments (SSAFE) From 26 November – 2 December, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) organized a training course in Thailand on ‘Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments’ (SSAFE) for the United Nations Secretary-General’s Mechanism for Investigations of Alleged Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons (UNSGM). The objective of the course was to provide a group of qualified experts nominated by Member States to the…
Symposium on combatting terrorism in the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea held in Lomé
On 25 November, in Lomé, Togo, the University of Lomé held a symposium on “the Fight against terrorism in the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea,” supportedby the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC). Participants from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo attended as did CSOs representatives (WANEP, CIVIC), academics from the region, government officials, including from the National Assembly and the Ministry of Education, representatives of the diplomatic corps based in Togo, and representatives of the United Nations Country…
First-ever UN SaferGuard Training for Women Ammunition Technical Experts on the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines held in Austria
From 23 October to 3 November, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), in collaboration with the Austrian Ministry of Defence and the Ammunition Management Advisory Team (AMAT), conducted the first-ever UN SaferGuard Training for Women Ammunition Technical Experts on the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG). Eleven women working in technical ammunition management roles in their national military and security forces participated in the two-week international training which was held in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. The training provided an opportunity for…
SIPRI and UNODA’s engagement with next generation AI practitioners
From 16 to 17 November, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) organized a two-day capacity-building workshop on ‘Responsible AI for Peace and Security’ for a select group of STEM students. The workshop—the first in a series of four—aimed to provide up-and-coming Artificial Intelligence (AI) practitioners the opportunity to learn how to address the risks that civilian AI research and innovation may pose to international peace and security. The event, held in Malmö in collaboration with Malmö…
Empowering Women in Ammunition Management: insights from a roundtable discussion at the Office for Disarmament Affairs in Vienna
On 30 October, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) Vienna Office held a roundtable discussion for women ammunition technical experts. Expert practitioners and institutional representatives from Vienna-based organizations participated in discussions on various aspects of through-life ammunition management. The event was organized on the margins of the UN SaferGuard Training for Women Ammunition Technical Experts on the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG), which took place in Wiener Neustadt from 23 October to 3 November and was hosted by UNODA in…