Project addressing the terrorism-arms-crime nexus jointly launched by UNCCT and UNODC

Photo of launch of SALW project

This new project addresses the connection between terrorism, organized crime and the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Central Asia. It aims to enhance criminal justice responses to prevent and combat the illicit trafficking of SALW and to disrupt the illicit supply of such arms to terrorist groups.

On Friday 21 February, the project was jointly launched by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in the presence of UNOCT Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov.

"I am confident the project implementation will bring concrete results benefiting all Central Asian States. Our common goal is to make the region more secure & prosperous, free from illicit weapons & terrorism." USG Voronkov, #UNCCT ED#SALW project: https://t.co/BVHgAQYZSbpic.twitter.com/xXiYXfrFI7

— United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (@UN_OCT) February 21, 2020
Legislative capacities in Central Asia

The project will also contribute to the enhancement of national legislative, strategic and operational capacities for Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, whose Permanent Representatives to the United Nations were present at the event. They welcomed the project as a reflection of the political engagement of the region to fight terrorism and transnational crime. They recalled that Central Asian counties adopted, in 2010, a Joint Plan of Action for the Implementation of the UN Global CounterTerrorism Strategy in Central Asia.

Funded by the Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation, the project supports the implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, Security Council Resolution 2370 (2017), the Madrid Guiding Principles, and the Firearms Protocol to the UN Convention Against Transnational Crime, among other international legal instruments.

More information about the project: