East, Southern African States Meet in Gaborone to Tackle Ammunition Diversion, Mitigate Risk of Unplanned Explosions at Depots
GABORONE, 24 September (Office for Disarmament Affairs) – On 24 and 25 September, States from East and Southern Africa will meet in Gaborone, Botswana, alongside United Nations entities, international, regional and non-governmental organizations, to discuss the implementation of the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management. The regional meeting aims to raise awareness of this new international arms control instrument and the political commitments contained therein. The meeting is organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), in collaboration with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat and with financial support from Germany.
Unplanned explosions of conventional ammunition, especially ammunition used in heavy weapons, pose a serious threat to civilian populations, infrastructure and the environment. The nature of ammunition makes it especially attractive for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices by non-State actors and puts it at risk of being diverted to unauthorized users. The diversion, illicit trafficking and misuse of conventional ammunition, including small arms and light weapons ammunition, play a central role in initiating, exacerbating and sustaining armed conflict, pervasive violence and acts of crime and terrorism.
To address these challenges, United Nations Member States adopted the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management in December 2023. Its endorsement by the General Assembly was a key milestone in global efforts to counter illicit trafficking and diversion of ammunition and reduce the risk of unplanned explosions at munition sites. The Global Framework covers all types of conventional ammunition, from small-calibre ammunition to the largest conventional ammunition and contains 15 objectives with a range of measures that promote the safety, security and sustainability of through-life conventional ammunition management at every stage, from the point of manufacture to their ultimate disposal.
As part of a series of regional meetings, States from East and Southern Africa are meeting this week to discuss regional priorities and needs, as well as the unique challenges and opportunities in translating the political commitments in the Global Framework into concrete actions at the regional and national level. These exchanges will be pivotal in shaping a regional approach ahead of next year’s Preparatory Meeting of States at UN Headquarters in New York, where the follow-up and review process of the Global Framework will be initiated.
Participants will discuss existing regional and sub-regional instruments in East and Southern Africa, including the SADC Protocol and the Nairobi Protocol, and explore how these mechanisms can support the implementation of the Global Framework. The importance of needs-driven, integrative, and sustainable approaches to international assistance will be highlighted, particularly through the application of the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines and Weapons and Ammunition Management Baseline Assessments. In accordance with Objective 14 of the Global Framework, the meeting seeks to increase understanding of gender considerations with respect to conventional ammunition and will focus on avenues to strengthen gender mainstreaming and the full, equal, meaningful and effective participation of women in through-life conventional ammunition management.
Thematic presentations and group discussions will focus on good practices for through-life ammunition security to reduce the risk of ammunition falling into the wrong hands. These include promoting transparency across supply chains by implementing robust marking and record-keeping systems that enhance the traceability of ammunition. Participants will explore how analysing diversion risks prior to transfers can prevent ammunition from reaching unauthorized users. The discussions will also emphasize the need to improve investigations into ammunition diversion through enhanced data collection, regional and cross regional cooperation, and effective information sharing.
Sessions will also discuss safe stockpile management to prevent and mitigate the risk of unplanned explosions at munitions sites, which have in the past killed thousands of people, displaced many more and resulted in huge economic losses. Such measures include the implementation of systematic surveillance and inventory systems, limiting the quantity of explosives stored in a single location, implementing safe storage practices, and ensuring that depots are located away from populated areas to minimize the impact of any potential incidents.
More information on the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management is available at: https://disarmament.unoda.org/convarms/ammunition/#gfammunition
For additional details on the regional meeting, please contact Nora Allgaier, Political Affairs Officer at nora.allgaier@un.org.