Disarmament – 2001
2001
A mission of the national commission for the collection of illegal weapons was in Diffa on 1 December 2001. The president of the national commission and the project coordinator interacted with the community members about the project. The mission was an initiation to implement the moratorium signed by UN member states in Abuja on light weapons. In the specific case of Niger, beyond the collection and destruction of the weapons, the project was meant to provide further security to the people and to start development activities. Thus, the communities which would turn in their weapons to the project would in exchange receive funding for the micro-projects they develop. For this phase, which was to last almost two years, the project was to be allocated $1 Million from the United Nations Development Program. Already, 50 per cent of the funds had been secured, and the activities of the project might start in January 2002. Therefore, the members of the mission asked everyone to give their advice so as to make this phase successful. This type of project was supposed to continue and would be extended to other regions, where the proliferation of firearms was a threat to development.1