The proliferation and distribution of as well as the access to small arms has a severe impact on organised violence across the globe—from local violence (e. g. pastoralists against farmers) to civil wars. BICC’s aim is to develop innovative ways on how to control small arms in conflict-prone regions. Currently, our activities focus on the Sahel, Maghreb, the Horn of Africa and West Africa.

BICC’s research and advisory work focuses on several aspects of small arms control, including the counter-proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW), the physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) of state weapons’ stocks, the marking and registration of arms and ammunition and the improved coordination of arms control initiatives. We work closely with regional and national partners such as the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), The Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA), Presidential Commission on SALW (PRESCOM), Nigeria, Sub-Regional Small Arms Control Mechanism (SARCOM).

Furthermore, BICC has developed a tool to build knowledge on SALW: The SALW Guide is the only publicly available online source of data on the most common SALW found around the world, including data on more than 80 different types of SALW (available in English, German, Spanish and French).