Building on Experience: Leveraging Existing Mechanisms for Effective Implementation of the Global Framework
The Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management advocates a cooperative, flexible, and sustainable approach to enhancing ammunition safety and security. Recognizing the importance of building upon and complementing existing arms control instruments, the Framework underscores the strategic value of leveraging established international, regional, and subregional mechanisms to support its effective implementation.
By embedding its objectives within existing structures, the Framework stands to benefit from the accumulated expertise, institutional arrangements, and operational capacities that these mechanisms have developed over time. Such an approach not only enhances efficiency but also promotes the long-term sustainability of ammunition management efforts by integrating them into broader disarmament, security sector governance, and peacebuilding initiatives. In doing so, it reinforcesthe principle of national ownership and strengthens the overall coherence and impact of international assistance.
In various regions, organizations such as CARICOM and ECOWAS have developed specialized instruments aimed at preventing and mitigating the risks associated with the illicit proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons, along with their associated ammunition and explosive materials. These instruments—established through regional conventions, protocols, directives, initiatives, or political declarations—frequently serve to adapt and contextualize relevant international frameworks, including the United Nations Programme of Action, the International Tracing Instrument, and the Arms Trade Treaty, to the specific needs, priorities, and circumstances of their respective regions.
To support the practical implementation of regional instruments, mechanisms such as regional action plans and roadmaps have been developed to provide structured assistance to relevant national institutions. As national authorities responsible for small arms control are frequently also tasked with overseeing ammunition management and, in some contexts, addressing explosive hazards, this convergence of mandates underscores the critical importance of adopting integrated and coherent approaches across these interconnected domains. Such integration is essential to ensuring the effective and sustainable implementation of the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management.
Drawing on experiences from several regions such as the Caribbeans and West Africa, this side-event will examine how existing mechanisms at both the regional and national levels can be leveraged to facilitate the effective implementation of the Global Framework.
Opening remarks by Elisabeth Suh, German Federal Foreign Office.
Moderated and key note address by Anne-Séverine Fabre, Researcher at the Small Arms Survey.
Speakers:
Callixtus Joseph, Assistant Director of Policy, Strategy and Innovation, CARICOM IMPACS.
Adam Bonaa, Executive Secretary, Ghana National Commission.
Simonetta Grassi, Chief, Firearms Trafficking Section, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Julien Joly, Programme Manager, Small Arms Survey.
Clément Meynier, Global Partnership Advisor, MAG.
