Border Security Officers Undergo Specialized Training on Arms Control and Border Security Management
Atty. T. Maxwell Grigsby II, Chairman LiNCSA
State Security Officers assigned at the Ganta-Guinea and Loguotou-Ivory Coast borders, Nimba County and Toe-Town (B’hai)-Ivory Coast border, Grand Gedeh County are currently undergoing a week-long, specialized training on arms control and border security management, a press release from the Liberia National Commission on Small Arms (LiNCSA) has said.
According to the release, the training started on the 10th of August at the Toe Town (B’hai), Ivory Coast Ivory Coast border in Grand Gedeh County and will continue on the 17th, at other border sites. It brings together 60 joint security officers, comprising the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), Custom Officers, Liberia National Police (LNP), Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), and county officers of LiNCSA as well as other relevant local government officials.
The release said participants are acquiring knowledge in various areas of arms control and border security management which includes, the control of small arms and Light Weapons control, arms trade, transfer and trafficking as well as gender in arms control.
The specialized training, according to the release, also enhances the capacity of border security officers to become more proactive in preventing the diversion of illicit small arms, their ammunition, light weapons, explosives and other related materials.
Arms Control Experts and Practitioners drawn from the Small Arms Commission, the Liberia Immigration Service and the Liberia Revenue Authority (Customs) formed part of a team of facilitators who are conducting the specialized training.
Meanwhile, the release said following the end of the training, a massive awareness of arms trafficking and illicit trade is expected to take place in Jorwah Town, a border community in Bong County.
The Specialized Training for Border Security Officers is funded under the framework of Liberia’s Component of the ECOWAS-EU Organized Crime West Africa Response to Trafficking (OCWAR-T) Project.
OCWAR-T is a three-year project for seven ECOWAS member states, including Liberia, funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO). In Liberia, the project is implemented by LiNCSA in collaboration with UNDP, and GIZ.