The proliferation, distribution and access of small arms has a severe impact on organized violence across the globe – from local violence (e. g. pastoralists against farmers) up 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, 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, RECSA.

BICC’s SALW Guide aims to provide the global SALW control community with a tool to build knowledge on SALW. It is the only publicly available, online source of data on the most common SALW found around the world, including data on over 80 different types of SALW found around the world (available in English, German, Spanish and French).