Sierra Leone

Arms for Development

Project Background

Arms for Development was launched by the Government of Sierra Leone and UNDP in 2004, following an earlier preparatory assistance phase in 2003.It evolved from two earlier initiatives: Community Arms Collection and Destruction (CACD) and CACD II, implemented by the Sierra Leone Police. The first CACD, started in 2002, aimed at collecting arms in coordination with other programs, such as the UNAMSIL Stop Gap program, which worked in the most volatile areas of Sierra Leone on reconstructing civil buildings with both civilians and ex-combatants. As outlined in its project document, the AfD was designed to operate within the existing national and international frameworks for peace-building and socio-economic recovery in Sierra Leone, including the 1999 Lome Peace Accord, the ECOWAS Moratorium on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the National Recovery Strategy (NSR) for Sierra Leone, as well as Sierra Leone’s PRSP, the UNDAF and the Millennium Development Goals.

The goal of the program is to promote the conditions for lasting peace, human security and social-economic developments through the creation of opportunities for the voluntary surrender of weapons in exchange for development (projects).More specifically, the AfD has three main objectives:(1) improved human security and opportunities for socio-economic development in rural communities in Sierra Leone through the collection of weapons and the associated (re)building of community infrastructures;(2) improving national-level security through institutional capacity building including supporting interventions to reduce the cross-border trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW) and the establishment of a National Commission on Small Arms , policy and legislative reforms.
 

 Project Objectives

1. Collection of weapons through voluntary surrender in exchange for development projects at the community level;

2. Facilitate the establishment of a National Commission on Small Arms

3. Support the review and implementation of arms and ammunition legislation;

4. Support interventions to reduce cross border trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW).
    

Project Outcome

• Increased awareness on the dangers of illicit small arms in rural communities .

• Strengthened institutional capacity for small arms control in Sierra Leone

• Improved capacity for border control.

Related Documents

Arms for Development Project 2007 End of Report