With this project, BICC continues capacity development activities on PSSM in two focus countries of the enhancement initiative of the German federal government (Ertüchtigungsinitiative der Bundesregierung): Nigeria and Mali. It complements the PSSM Capacity Building and Advisory project, which is currently undertaken by BICC with the African Union and the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA).
BICC has supported PSSM capacity development activities in the ECOWAS region since 2014 when a PSSM assessment was conducted in Mali on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office and the Malian government. In August 2015, BICC conducted a two-day PSSM training course with the Presidential Committee on SALW (PRESCOM) in Nigeria following a request by the Nigerian government. BICC has also contributed to a regional PSSM project funded by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (WRA) and implemented by the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and Handicap International in different countries of the Western Sahel, as well as to BAFA-implemented ATT-related training activities in Senegal and Burkina Faso.
In the duration of the project, technical assistance and capacity development are provided for PSSM and SALW control activities in the ECOWAS region, in particular in Nigeria and Mali, in close cooperation with MAG and and the Verification Center of the German Armed Forces (ZVBw). In Nigeria, BICC will cooperate closely with PRESCOM. Several training courses on PSSM are to take place in the project countries. At the same time, the project team will assess the feasibility of creating a regional PSSM training course for West Africa and aims at a pilot course in 2017. BICC is deploying a consultant to coordinate the work in the region.