From 7 to 11 November 2016, UNODC, through its Global Firearms Programme, organised a training course on investigation and prosecution of firearms related crimes in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
During the five-day training, 29 national law enforcement and judicial officials as well as selected members of parliament and civil society representatives were trained on the identification and classification of arms, measures to prevent trafficking in firearms, crime scene management, investigation techniques and firearms tracing. The training also served to strengthen understanding of the main legal instruments on combatting transnational organized crime including the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its supplementing Firearms Protocol, which are both adhered to by Mauritania.
An additional focus was set on exploring and addressing opportunities and challenges regarding international cooperation in criminal matters at the level of the police as well as the judiciary. Based on a combination of theoretical and practical sessions, the training further allowed participants from different professional backgrounds to gain and deepen insights into the roles and responsibilities of the different authorities of the national criminal justice apparatus and to exchange on their respective expertise and experiences.
The training course was funded by Japan and developed under the capacity building pillar of the Global Firearms Programme within the framework of UNODC's Sahel Programme.
