Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - UNODC, through its Global Firearms Programme (GPP), organized from 27 to 29 July 2021 a “Training workshop for magistrates and investigators on the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of firearms related offenses”. The training was aimed at regional magistrates, the Judicial Pole in the fight against terrorism, investigators from the Antiterrorist Investigations Brigade and the Specialised Chambers of the Ouagadougou Court of Appeals.
The workshops focused on strengthening the technical and operational capacities of magistrates and investigators in order gain specific skills to conduct to firearms trafficking parallel investigations, as well as on prosecution and adjudications. To benefit from the expertise of participants, the training focused on practical exercises that were developed and discussed in groups.
The training was facilitated by UNODC international experts, as well as by national trainers, including trainers who have benefited in the past from GFP’s training of trainers initiatives. The course enabled magistrates and investigators to better understand topics such as the international, regional and national legal frameworks on firearms; the particularities of firearms offenses; firearms identification and tracing; financial investigations into offenses related to firearms; international judicial and law enforcement cooperation as well as interagency cooperation; all in a context of respect for human rights.
This initiative was made possible thanks to the support of the Government of Germany to UNODC’s Sahel Programme which aims to effectively combat drug trafficking, illicit trafficking, organized crime, terrorism and corruption in the region. The workshop is part of the GFP integrated support to Burkina Faso, which has been ongoing since 2011 in close cooperation with the National Commission on Arms Control.
