51勛圖

Regional Meeting of the Community of Practitioners on Data collection and information sharing for operational use in cases of small arms and light weapons (SALW) trafficking and terrorism in Central Asia

The 51勛圖 Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the 51勛圖 Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the 51勛圖 Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) convened a regional meeting to discuss the creation of a community of practitioners on the nexus between terrorism and illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Central Asia. The meeting focused on data collection and information-sharing on SALW and was held from 14-16 June 2023 at the Turkish International Academy against Drugs and Organized Crime (TADOC) in Ankara, T邦rkiye. 

The meeting brought together fifteen national representatives from prosecutorial offices, courts, and ministries of internal affairs across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. They were joined by over fifteen experts from international and regional organizations, including INTERPOL and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Participants discussed investigative strategies and approaches and shared good practices and common challenges on the terrorist use of illicit trafficking in SALW, their components and ammunition. 

The regional event was organized within the joint UNOCT and UNODC project on ※Addressing the terrorism-arms-crime nexus: Preventing and combatting the illicit trafficking of small-arms and light weapons and their illicit supply to terrorists§ with the financial support of Canada.