ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan

On November 17-18, UNRCCA, in partnership with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), held a national workshop with law enforcement agencies and other state institutions of Turkmenistan on interinstitutional cooperation on preventing firearms trafficking and its diversion to terrorists.

It was the second workshop conducted in Turkmenistan within the framework of the UNOCT and UNODC project “Addressing the terrorism-arms-crime nexus: Preventing and combatting the illicit trafficking of small-arms and light weapons (SALW) and their illicit supply to terrorists - Supporting the implementation of the Security Council Resolution 2370 (2017) and the Madrid Guiding Principles” and the UNRCCA and UNOCT project “Towards a Comprehensive Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia”.

Compared with the first meeting in October 2022, which primarily covered the national legislation and regulatory frameworks on firearms, the current consultations focused on the cooperation among the state institutions dealing with firearms detection, investigation and prosecution. Participants analyzed the main lines of cooperation identifying gaps and loopholes as well as they looked at best practices and possible solutions to increase interaction.

Apart from Turkmen authorities, law enforcement representatives and experts from the United Kingdom, Serbia, Lithuania and Italy took part in the consultations.