UN-OSESG-GL Supports Sixth AU-Regional Standing Committee Meeting on SALW and DDR in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa, 5 November 2026 – With the support of the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region (OSESG-GL), through its SALW project funded by the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF), the Sixth Meeting of the AU-Regions Standing Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) opened at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, under the theme “New Technologies and SALW Control in Africa: From Awareness to Operational Adaptation.” OSESG-GL supported the African Union Commission in convening the two-day meeting and in advancing its capacity-building efforts, and presented to the Committee the progress and latest achievements of its SALW project.
The meeting brought together around 30 participants, including representatives of the African Union Commission, the eight Regional Economic Communities – CEN-SAD, COMESA, EAC, ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD, SADC and UMA – the regional bodies RECSA and ICGLR, and United Nations partners including UNIDIR, UNOCT, and UNPDF. Over two days, members took stock of progress made on SALW control and DDR in 2026, identified common challenges and set priorities for 2027, and examined the implications of emerging technologies – including 3D-printed and polymer-based firearms, drones, and lethal autonomous weapons systems – for arms control efforts across the continent.
Notably, this sixth meeting would not have been possible in person without the support of UNPDF and OSESG-GL; thanks to the sustained efforts of OSESG-GL and the financial support of UNPDF, members were able to gather face-to-face in Addis Ababa for the first time since its third meeting. The participants took the floor actively, exchanged views, and shared national and regional experiences with a depth that virtual formats could not offer, significantly enhancing engagement within the Standing Committee and enriching the exchange of experience among its members.
Delivering opening remarks, Mr. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU), conveyed the congratulations of Mr. Huang Xia, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, whose Office supported the facilitation of the meeting. He commended the African Union’s peace, security and disarmament initiatives under the Silencing the Guns initiative, and recalled the heavy human cost that the illicit circulation of small arms and light weapons continues to exact across the continent — with diversion, organized crime and new manufacturing technologies keeping weapons flowing into the wrong hands. Noting that the Committee takes forward the outcomes of the Ninth Biennial Meeting of States (BMS9) and builds directly on the RECSA Regional Conference on WAM in DDR contexts concluded the previous day, he echoed the Secretary-General’s warning that new threats, including 3D-printed arms and untraceable “ghost guns,” are rapidly emerging. He further expressed gratitude to UNPDF for supporting innovative and forward-looking peace projects in Africa, stating: “The collaboration in facilitating this meeting illustrates once again the United Nations’ commitment to African-led, African-owned solutions.”
In the opening statement, the African Union Commission welcomed participants and placed the meeting within the framework of Agenda 2063 and its flagship initiative Silencing the Guns, underlining the importance of coordinated continental responses to both conventional and emerging arms-related threats.
The meeting’s agenda is closely aligned with the work of the OSESG-GL SALW project, “Advancing Member States’ Capacity for Effective Implementation of Weapons and Ammunition Management in DDR Contexts in the RECSA Region.” The project’s focus on emerging technology threats mirrors this year’s theme, while its data-driven monitoring tools and regional training programmes support the very capacities the Committee seeks to strengthen.
During the meeting, the OSESG-GL SALW project team reported to Committee members on the key milestones achieved since the project’s launch, and presented the three mechanism innovations developed under the project: a regional SALW database and data dashboard, responding to the data-driven strategy championed by the United Nations’ UN 2.0 initiative; a multi-dimensional training system, including a series of short learning videos, ToT, and follow up trainings, for national institutions and frontline officers; and the SALW Working Group establish under the CCG framework to sustain regional coordination and peer learning among Member States.
Beyond the immediate agenda, the meeting stands as a concrete example of the growing China–United Nations–Africa partnership for peace and security in Africa. The SALW project is funded through the UNPDF Peace and Security Sub-Fund, in line with the Global Security Initiative. Channelled through the United Nations and implemented with African institutions, this support translates a shared commitment into concrete results on the ground – from national action plans and marking equipment to training for frontline officers – in direct support of the African Union’s Silencing the Guns ambition.
The Standing Committee concluded on 6 November with conclusions, recommendations and follow-up actions to guide continental SALW control and DDR efforts in the year ahead.
