Indian Army hosts inaugural United Nations Fellowship Training Programme on small arms control in Jabalpur

Key facts

• The Indian Army is hosting the inaugural United Nations (UN) Fellowship Training Programme on small arms and light weapons (SALW) control for the Asia-Pacific region.
• The three-week training programme is being conducted at the Military College of Materials Management (MCMM) in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and will culminate on 6 March.
• The fellowship is organised by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD).
• Delegates from 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific region are participating in the programme held under the aegis of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• The programme is designed to build technical and operational capacity for implementing the UN Programme of Action (PoA) and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI).
• The initiative aims to enhance regional cooperation, improve tracing systems, and strengthen responsible stockpile management practices to counter illicit SALW proliferation.
• Deepayan Basu Ray, Director of UNRCPD, and Lieutenant General Sanjay Sethi addressed the strategic importance of the fellowship in addressing security challenges posed by illicit arms flows.